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THE  ANSONS 


pSIATIG   ©EMPLiES. 


I 


HY 


REV.  FRANK  S.  DOBBINS. 


PHILADELPHIA 


UraePican  Baptist  publication  ^ociBtij, 

14-20  Chestnut  Street. 


THE  ANSONS 


IX 


ASIATIC  TEMPLES, 


BY 

REV.  FRANK  S.  DOBBINS. 

'I 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

AMERICAN  BAPTIST  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY, 
1420  Chestnut  Street. 


)PY  AOOEO 

T041994  J/^ 


REFSE 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congi-ess,  in  the  year  1885,  by  the 

AMERICAN  BAPTIST  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


CONTENTS, 


PAGE. 

CHAPTER  L 
SEiTiNa  Out  on  the  Journey 7 


CHAPTER  n. 
A  Tricycle  Trip  to  Asakusa,  Tokio 23 

CHAPTER  m. 
An  Afternoon  in  Shiba,  Tokio 38 

CHAPTER  IV. 
A  JiN-RiKi-SHA  Jaunt  to  Pai  Butz 54 

CHAPTER  V. 

Over  the  Mountains  to  Kioto 71 

8 


4  CONTENTS. 

PAGS. 

CHAPTER  VL 
The  Sacred  City  op  Kioto 86 

CHAPTER  Vn. 
To  THE  Land  op  Teas  and  Queues.     102 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
From  Shanghai  to  Pekin 118 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  story  op  "  Chinese  Gordon." 137 

CHAPTER  X. 
Housekeeping  in  Canton 152 

CHAPTER  XL 
In  the  Land  of  the  White  Elephant 171 

CHAPTER  XIL 
Under  the  Shadow  op  Shway  Dagon 187 

CHAPTER  XIIL 
From  Rangoon  to  Madras '. 205 


CONTENTS.  6 

PAOB 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Juggernaut  and  Kali 221 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Overland  Through  Indla. 242 

CHAPTER  XVL 
In  Mostjem  Lands 260 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
The  Invalid's  Journey  Home 274 


THE 

ANSONS  IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SETTING  OUT  ON  THE  JOURNEY. 

rjlHE  Hoyt  Mission  Band  had  just  closed  its 
meeting.  As  the  little  folks  stood  about, 
putting  on  their  coats  and  hats,  it  was  very- 
evident  that  something  had  greatly  excited 
them.  There  was  an  unusual  bustle  and  stir, 
as  the  tongues  were  wagging  in  a  much  livelier 
manner  than  during  the  meeting  just  closed; 
and  there  was  good  reason  for  it,  as  we  shall 

BKX* 

Bertie  and  Bessie  Anson  had  been  living  in 
Alton  for  six  years  past.  Their  father  was  the 
Pastor  of  the  First  Church.  Just  before  coming 
to  Ahon   he   had  been  greatly  moved   by  the 


8  THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TE^[PLES. 

speech  of  a  returned  missionary,  and  had  de- 
termined to  give  himself  to  the  work  of  Avin- 
ning  the  Chinese  to  Christ.  But  his  physician 
told  him  that  he  was  not  strong  enough  to  stand 
a  life-long  residence  in  that  country,  and  he  was 
forced  to  give  up  his  cherished  purpose. 

When  he  settled  in  Alton,  he  determined  to 
become  better  acquainted  with  the  work  of 
foreign  missions,  and  to  try  to  awaken  in  his 
people  an  interest  in  them.  So  he  set  for 
himself  a  course  of  study  on  the  geography 
and  history  of  Asia,  and  began  to  read  of  the 
manners  of  the  strange  peoples  occupying  that 
continent.  He  found  this  an  excellent  diversion 
from  his  ordinary  studies.  Of  course,  his  little 
boy  and  girl,  then  eight  and  six  years  old,  be- 
came interested  also  in  their  papa's  books  and 
maps  and  pictures. 

The  people  did  not  care  much  for  missions,  as 
Mr.  Anson  soon  learned ;  but  the  reason  of  this 
was,  that  they  knew  scarcely  anything  about 
them.     The  first  thing   he  did  was   to   buy  a 


SETTING   OUT  ON   THE    JOURNEY.  iJ 

Magic  Lantern  and  a  number  of  slides,  and 
with  the  aid  of  these  he  gave  a  series  of  Friday 
evening  lectures.  Of  course,  the  people  came  to 
see  the  pictures,  and  soon  began  to  care  more  for 
the  salvation  of  the  idolaters.  After  a  little 
while  the  young  folks  planned  to  organize  a 
Mission  Band,  and  to  take  up  in  earnest  the 
study  of  missions.  Mr.  Anson  presided  at 
their  meetings,  and  gave  the  little  folks  the 
benefit  of  his  own  learning.  The  Band  had 
made  such  progress,  that  in  four  or  five  years 
they  had  made  imaginary  journeys  in  almost 
every  country  of  Asia,  They  had  held  festivals, 
given  entertainments,  and  prepared  "Japanese 
tea-parties,"  all  in  addition  to  the  gift  of  quite 
a  sum  of  their  own  money  to  the  missionary 
workers  in  Swatow. 

Mr.  Anson  had  a  pet  project;  for  this  he  had 
been  carefully  saving  his  money  during  the  six 
years  past.  It  looked  as  if  he  would  have  to 
wait  a  great  many  more  years  before  he  would  be 
able  to  carry  out  his  plan,  when  he  received  news 


10        THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

of  the  death  of  a  relative,  to  whom  he  had  once 
rendered  important  services,  who  had  left  him 
nearly  five  thousand  dollars.  At  once  his  mind 
was  made  up  that  he  should  take  his  family  and 
make  the  long  wished  for  tour  of  the  temples 
and  missions  of  the  East.  In  this  way,  he  felt 
that  he  could  become  well  acquainted  with  the 
missionaries  and  their  fields  of  labor;  and  so, 
perhaps,  be  of  as  much  service  to  the  Master 
in  stirring  up  the  hearts  of  Christians  at 
home,  as  if  he  had  gone  to  China  as  a  mis- 
sionary. 

This  it  was  that  had  caused  such  a  stir  among 
the  members  of  the  Hoyt  Mission  Band,  for 
Bertie  and  Bessie  had  just  told  them  of  the 
intended  journey. 

"  Oh,  how  I  wish  that  I  was  going ! " 
"Won't  you  write  us  long  letters  and  tell  us 
all  that  you  see?"  "When  will  you  go?" 
*'They  won't  eat  you  up,  will  they,  out  there?" 

How  the  questions  poured  out !  It  seemed 
wonderful  that  it  was  to  be  a  real  journey;  that 


SETTING  OUT  ON   THE    JOURNEY.  11 

with  their  own  eyes  Bertie  and  Bessie  were  to 
see  the  temples  and  the  mission  chapels  of  which 
they  had  read  in  Little  Helpers  and  The  Helping 
Hand;  that  they  were  to  go  about  among  the 
queer  folks  of  whom  the  missionaries  had 
written. 

The  days  of  preparation  quickly  passed  by, 
and  the  Anson  family  were  ready  to  start  on 
their  journey  around  the  world.  Mr.  Anson 
had  determined  to  burden  himself  with  just  as 
little  baggage  as  possible.  So  we  see  the  family 
party,  on  a  bright  Monday  morning,  seated  in 
the  Pullman  car,  dressed  in  rough  and  tumble 
suits,  and  ready  to  enjoy,  to  the  full,  their 
journey  from  the  very  beginning.  To  Bertie 
and  Bessie  it  was  a  new  experience  to  travel 
for  more  than  a  few  hours.  "  It  was  just  like 
a  picnic,"  Bessie  said,  as  the  porter  brought 
them  their  great  lunch  basket.  When  night 
came,  their  seats  were  drawn  together,  mat- 
tresses and  sheets  and  blankets  spread  over 
them,  and  a  bed  pulled  down  from  the  ceiling 


12         THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

of  the  car,  and  curtains  hung  before  them. 
Then  Bertie  and  his  papa  climbed  up  into 
the  upper  berth,  while  Bessie  and  her  mamma 
slept  in  the  lower  one.  It  was  a  long  while 
before  the  children  could  get  to  sleep;  they 
were  so  excited  with  the  leaving  home,  and 
were  so  often  disturbed  as  trains  rushed  past 
them.  It  was  a  night  and  an  experience  that 
they  never  forgot. 

The  party  stopped  for  a  day  in  Chicago,  to  get 
rested  and  to  prepare  for  the  journey  across 
the  prairies  and  mountains  to  San  Francisco, 
where  they  were  to  take  the  steamer  for  Japan. 
At  Ogden  they  stopped  again,  to  go  up  to  Salt 
Lake,  and  to  see  the  great  Mormon  city.  After 
a  ride  of  a  little  more  than  six  days  and  nights 
in  the  cars,  they  reached  San  Francisco.  Here 
Bessie  took  the  chance  of  writing  to  one  of  her 
friends  who  occupied  the  same  seat  with  her  in 
school,  and  who  was  the  Secretary  of  the  Hoyt 
Mission  Band: 


setting  out  on  the  journey.        13 

"Occidental  Hotel,  San  Francisco. 

"  My  Dear  Nellie  :  Oh,  how  I  wish  that 
you  and  all  the  girls  could  be  with  me !  It  all 
seems  so  funny.  We  are  awfully  tired  of  riding 
in  the  cars.  I  would  like  to  tell  you  about  the 
Indians  we  saw,  and  their  babies, '  pappooses,'  as 
they  call  them;  they  were  awfully  dirty,  I 
thought,  and  their  papas  and  mammas  were  not 
any  cleaner.  When  somebody  said,  'There's 
an  Indian,'  oh,  how  it  made  my  heart  jump! 
But  I  don't  feel  half  so  afraid  now.  And  then 
the  Chinamen;  we  saw  more  and  more  of  them 
the  nearer  we  came  to  California.  They  look  so 
clean  (papa  says  it  is  only  on  the  outside),  and 
they  go  about  so  quietly.  But,  how  funny  their 
talk  seems.  'Supposee,  missie,  you  wanchee  one 
cup  tea,  me  catchee.'  'You,  Melican  girlee?' 
'Me  sabee.'  They  call  this  'pidgeon  English,' 
or  business  English. 

"  We  climbed  up,  up,  up  the  mountains  from 
Nebraska,  then  we  went  down  the  Rockies,  and 
then  right  up  and  over  the  Sierra  Nevadas.     At 


14        THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

one  place  they  took  us  on  board  a  great  ferry- 
boat, locomotive,  cars,  and  all.  The  cars  do  not 
come  right  into  San  Francisco,  but  they  run  into 
Oakland  and  out  on  a  great  wharf  several  miles 
loDg ;  then  the  people  get  into  two-storied  ferry- 
boats, and  are  taken  over  the  bay  into  the  city. 
Bertie  says  that  a  man  told  him  that  there  are 
three  railroads  across  the  continent  now,  one  up 
north,  through  Dakota  to  Oregon,  one  down 
south,  through  New  Mexico  and  Southern 
California,  and  the  one  Ave  came  on,  through 
Nebraska,  "Wyoming,  Nevada,  and  so  to  San 
Francisco. 

"On  Tuesday,  a  girl  named  Ruble  Larrison 
came  to  see  us  with  her  papa,  who  is  a  deacon  in 
the  church  here.  I  like  her  very  much,  and  I  am 
going  to  see  her  some  day  at  her  home.  Last 
Sunday,  we  went  to  church  in  Oakland,  and  I 
sat  with  Ruble.  In  the  evening,  we  went  to  the 
Chinese  Mission  School ;  it  was  a  queer  Sunday- 
school.  Every  class  had  just  one  pupil  and  one 
teacher.     The  Chinamen  all  dress  just  as  they  do 


SETTING  OUT  OX  THE    JOURNEY.  15 

in  China,  with  their  ^  pig-tails/  and  all.  They 
sing  in  Chinese  mostly.  I  had  all  I  could  do  to 
keep  from  laughing  at  them.  Papa  is  going  to 
take  one  of  the  Chinese  *  boys'  with  him  on  the 
steamer;  his  name  is  Ah  Ching.  He  has  been 
very  sick,  and  the  missionary  teacher  wants  to 
keep  him  out  of  the  steerage.  By  going  with 
papa  he  can  be  in  the  cabin  most  of  the  time. 

"The  folks  that  we  have  met  tease  us  about 
being  sea-sick,  and  they  ask  us  to  try  all  sorts  of 
things  to  keep  off  sea-sickness.  Papa  went  to 
the  doctor's  yesterday,  and  he  gave  him  some 
powders  in  a  tin  box.  We  all  have  to  take  them ; 
they  taste  just  like  salt.  They  are  marked 
Bromide  of  Sodium;  but  I  don't  know  what 
that  is. 

"Well,  I  must  not  write  any  more,  because  it 

is  bedtime.     Please  give  my  love  to  all  the  girls. 

"Your  friend, 

Bessie  Anson." 

It  took  some  time  to  make  all  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  sea  voyage.     State-rooms  had  to  be 


16         THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

secured,  money  had  to  be  exchanged,  tickets 
bought,  and  every  so  many  other  little  things  to 
be  attended  to.  Under  the  guidance  of  Rubie 
Larrison  and  her  papa,  the  children  went  to 
Woodward's  Gardens  and  to  the  Cliff  House,  to 
see  the  seals  come  up  out  of  the  sea  and  climb 
up  the  rocks.  At  another  time  they  went  to 
the  smelting  works,  and  saw  them  refining  gold 
and  silver;  and  then,  to  the  Mint,  where  it  was 
turned  into  coin.  On  another  day,  guided  by  a 
policeman,  they  went  through  "China-town,'^ 
among  the  opium  dens,  and  into  the  "joss- 
houses,"  where  the  children  saw  for  the  first  time 
the  idols  of  the  heathen.  It  seemed  a  strange 
thing  to  find  so  many  heathen  temples  in  Chris- 
tian America.  In  one  of  these  temples,  three 
idols  sat  side  by  side;  they  represented  Buddha 
past,  present,  and  to  come;  and  all  parts  of  the 
temple,  as  well  as  the  idols,  were  decorated  with 
color  and  gilding.  While  the  children  were  in 
the  "Joss-house  of  the  Three  Precious  Budd- 
has,"  a  poor  woman  came  in,  and,  kneeling  with 


SETTING  OUT  ON  THE    JOURNEY.  17 

her  head  to  the  floor,  began  to  mumble  over  her 
prayers.  It  brought  the  tears  to  Bessie's  eyes, 
and  filled  the  hearts  of  all  with  sadness,  that  she 
should  be  praying  to  the  wooden  idols  that  could 
not  hear,  while  a  loving,  living  Saviour  stood 
waiting  to  help  her. 

Mr.  Anson  found  out  that  quite  a  number  of 
missionaries  were  to  sail  on  the  same  steamer 
with  his  own  party ;  and,  as  he  had  some  letters 
of  introduction  to  officials  of  the  Steamship 
Company,  he  managed  to  have  it  arranged  that 
his  party  and  the  missionaries  should  have  rooms 
close  together,  and  that  they  should  eat  at  the 
same  tables.  He  was  also  able  to  get  into  the 
good  graces  of  the  captain,  through  the  influence 
of  these  friends,  and  so  received  many  little 
kindnesses  during  the  voyage.  Among  the  mis- 
sionaries were  a  gentleman  and  his  wife,  who 
had  lived  twenty- five  years  in  China,  and 
another  and  his  wife,  who  had  lived  a  short 
time  in  Japan,  and  who  were  going  back  again 
with  their  little  son,  a  child  of  three  years  old. 

B 


18         THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

The  rest  were  all  new  to  the  work ;  they  were  a 
medical  missionary  and  his  wife,  and  four  young 
ladies  and  two  young  gentlemen.  This  made  a 
very  pleasant  company;  and  Mr.  Anson  was 
delighted  that  he  had  such  a  chance  of  becoming 
well  acquainted  with  the  missionaries. 

Finally  the  day  came  for  starting  on  the  long 
voyage  of  three  or  four  weeks  across  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  The  steamer's  decks  were  crowded  with 
friends,  who  had  come  aboard  to  say  a  last  good- 
bye. Here  and  there  might  be  seen  a  lady 
passenger,  looking  with  envious  eyes  upon 
those  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  have  friends 
to  bid  them  a  farewell.  Then  the  bell  rang  the 
hour,  a  Chinese  cabin-boy  beat  the  gong,  and  the 
officers  called  out:  "All  aboard  and  all  ashore.'' 
The  great  ropes  were  drawn  in,  the  gangway 
drawn  up,  the  tug  was  made  fast  to  the  steamer, 
the  pilot  took  his  place,  the  command  was  given, 
and  the  great  vessel  was  towed  out  into  the  bay. 
Then  the  tug's  ropes  were  cast  off,  the  whistles 
blew  a  farewell,  the   engineer's   bell  was  rung, 


SETTING  OUT   ON   THE    JOURNEY.  19 

the  great  screw  began  to  tura,  and,  by  its  own 
power,  the  steamer  moved  grandly  down  the 
bay.  As  they  passed,  the  whistles  of  the  smelt- 
ing-works  blew  a  farewell  to  the  missionary 
party,  who  had  visited  them  a  few  days  pre- 
vious. 

As  everything  had  been  arranged  in  the  state- 
rooms the  Anson  party  were  to  occupy,  they  re- 
mained upon  deck,  determined  to  see  the  last  of 
the  land.  Very  little  motion  was  felt,  and  our 
friends  were  congratulating  themselves  upon 
their  comfortable  feelings.  Just  as  the  vessel 
passed  through  the  Golden  Gate,  out  upon  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  the  motion  of  the  swell  began  to 
be  felt,  and  when  well  across  the  bar,  the  rolling 
and  pitching  began.  One  after  another  went 
below  to  find  a  place  to  lie  down.  Bessie 
was  quite  amused  as  little  Charlie  wanted  to 
know  what  made  the  water  jump  up  to  the 
clouds  and  then  away  down  again,  and  what 
made  him  feel  so  funny.  By-and-by,  the 
"Oh  mys"  were  heard,  as  one  or  another  suf- 


20         THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

fered  the  distresses  of  sea-sickness.  The  Anson 
family  kept  up  very  well,  thanks  to  the  medi- 
cine which  they  had  taken  by  the  doctor's  direc- 
tion, though  it  did  not  entirely  prevent  the  sick- 
ness. 

Bertie  soon  made  friends  with  the  officers  and 
passengers,  and,  boy  like,  asked  any  number 
of  questions.  He  pried  into  everything.  For 
awhile  he  stood  watching  the  wheelman,  after 
the  pilot  had  gone  ashore ;  then  he  looked  into 
the  coops  where  the  sheep,  and  the  ducks, 
chickens,  turkeys,  and  pigeons  were  kept;  then 
through  the  hatchways  he  watched  the  work- 
ing of  the  engines. 

After  awhile,  the  purser  came  on  deck  and 
began  to  talk  with  him.  After  a  little  banter 
about  his  not  being  sick,  the  purser  began  to 
talk  of  the  passengers.  Bertie  had  always 
looked  upon  missionaries  as  a  sort  of  heroes, 
and  was  much  taken  aback  when  the  purser 
ventured  to  sneer  at  them  and  their  work. 

As  the  days  passed  by  and  he  became  better 


SETTING   OUT   ON   THE    JOURNEY.  21 

acquainted  with  the  purser  and  with  some  of  the 
passengers,  more  doubts  were  put  into  his  mind, 
and  he,  himself,  began  to  doubt  if  the  mission- 
ary work  was  really  of  any  use,  and  to  wonder 
if  it  was  not  all  folly,  after  all.  He  could  not 
tell  these  thoughts  to  his  father,  he  felt,  and  so 
he  determined  that  he  would  carefully  watch  the 
missionaries  and  listen  to  their  talk,  and  so  see 
if  they  were  in  earnest;  and  that  when  he  went 
through  Japan  and  China  he  would  see  for 
himself  as  to  the  real  state  of  the  heathen,  and 
just  what  good  or  evil  the  missionaries  might  be 
doing.  He  might  have  told  his  father  all  about 
his  doubts;  but,  with  the  conceit  so  common  to 
boyhood,  he  preferred  to  see  for  himself  and  to 
reason  the  thing  out  alone. 

Every  morning  and  evening,  the  mi&sionaries 
and  the  Anson  family  gathered  together  in  a 
corner  of  the  dining-room  for  "  family  prayers." 
On  Sundays,  they  gained  the  great  privilege  of 
having  service  in  the  "Social  Hall."  Often 
they  would  cluster  about  the  piano  and  sing 


22         THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

some  of  the  grand  old  gospel  hymns;  and  on 
warm,  pleasant  nights  would  draw  their  chairs 
together  upon  the  deck  and  send  the  sweet 
sounds  out  upon  the  air.  They  seemed  greatly 
to  enjoy  each  other's  company;  though  they 
belonged  to  different  denominations,  they  were 
one  in  their  trust  in  Christ,  and  one  in  wish- 
ing to  give  his  gospel  to  the  heathen.  So  day 
after  day  passed,  varied  by  storms  and  calms, 
yet  one  day  very  much  like  every  other.  On 
the  twentieth  day  of  the  voyage,  the  captain 
assured  the  passengers  that  they  should  see 
land  on  the  morrow,  and,  with  this  joyous 
expectation,  they  "turned  in"  early. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  TRICYCLE  TRIP  TO  ASAKUSA,  TOKIO. 

~r>  RIGHT  and  early  the  next  morning,  Bertie 
rose  and  went  on  deck,  half  expecting  to 
see  land  close  at  hand.  Nothing  was  to  be  seen, 
however,  but  the  same  great  circle  where  sea  and 
sky  seemed  to  come  together.  Just  then  the 
quartermaster  came  to  the  captain's  cabin,  and 
called   out: 

"  Land  ahead,  sir." 

"Where?"  said  Bertie. 

"Right  off  there.  Can't  you  make  it  out, 
sir?" 

Bertie  looked  and  looked  in  vain.  Finally, 
he  went  to  his  state-room  and  brought  his  glasses, 
but  even  then  he  could  not  see  it.  Just  then 
the  captain  came  from  his  room. 

"Where  is  the  land,  captain?     I  can't  see  it." 

The  captain  scanned  the  horizon  before  them. 


24        THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

"Why,  right  there.  Just  keep  looking  at 
that  point,  a  little  above  the  horizon ;  you  can 
only  tell  it  from  the  waves,  because  they  move, 
while  it  is  steady.  You  will  soon  see  more  of  it.'' 

After  breakfast,  when  they  came  on  deck 
again,  they  could  see,  quite  plainly,  a  point 
stretching  up  into  the  sky. 

"It  is  Fuji-yama,  the  great  mountain  of 
Japan,"  said  one  of  the  missionaries  who  had 
been  over  to  Japan  before. 

As  the  forenoon  passed  away,  birds  came 
flying  about  the  vessel — not  the  gulls  which 
had  always  been  flying  about  the  stern  of  the 
steamer  all  the  voyage  across  the  ocean — but 
land  birds.  The  saw-like  line  of  the  horizon 
became  more  distinct,  as  they  came  nearer  to 
the  mouth  of  the  bay  of  Yedo;  they  passed  many 
Japanese  fishing  junks  with  their  square  sails; 
and  off  to  the  south  they  could  see  a  long  trail 
of  smoke  left  by  a  steamer,  which  had  dis- 
appeared below  the  horizon. 

For  several  days  the  crew  had  been  busy 


A   TRICYCLE  TRIP  TO   ASAKUSA.  25 

polishing  up  the  brasses,  and  scouring  and  scrub- 
bing generally;  now  every  rope  was  coiled  up 
nicely,  the  covers  were  taken  from  the  furniture, 
the  carpet's  covering  removed,  and  the  whole 
vessel  was  put  in  holiday  trim. 

While  yet  some  distance  down  the  bay,  the 
steamer  was  sighted,  and  a  signal  gun  was  fired 
from  an  American  man-of-war,  which  announced 
to  the  people  of  Yokohama  the  arrival  of  the 
American  mail  steamer.  Soon  the  bay  was  all 
alive  with  little  boats,  sculled  by  almost  naked 
boatmen;  and  little  steam  launches  were  seen 
rushing  towards  the  steamer  as  she  came  up 
to  her  buoy  and  was  made  fast.  The  gangway 
was  lowered,  and  people  began  to  go  and 
come. 

Among  the  first  to  come  aboard  were  some 
missionaries  from  Yokohama,  who  sought  those 
who  were  to  join  their  mission  in  Japan.  These 
all  went  off  together.  Shortly  after,  the  Anson 
family  took  their  places  in  a  hotel  launch,  and 
were  very  quickly  in  their  rooms,  overlooking  the 


26         THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

bay,  where  they  could  see  the  steamer  riding  at 
her  buoy  nearly  a  mile  from  shore. 

Bertie  and  Bessie  were  impatient  to  go  out 
into  the  native  town;  but  as  in  the  excitement 
of  getting  to  land  they  had  eaten  no  "tiffin" — 
as  they  call  the  noonday  luncheon  in  the  East — 
they  were  compelled  to  wait  a  little  while. 
While  they  were  at  tiffin,  a  Japanese  servant 
brought  in  a  card  to  Mr.  Anson,  saying: 

"  Gentleman,  he  want  see  you." 

Mr.  Anson  found  it  to  be  an  old  college  friend, 
who  had  been  in  Japan  for  about  six  years  past, 
and  who  had  seen  liis  name  in  the  list  of  pas- 
sengers just  arrived.  At  once  he  asked  Mr. 
Anson  to  his  home;  but  Mr.  Anson  feared  that 
this  might  put  his  friend  to  considerable  trouble, 
as  his  "bungalow"  was  small,  so  he  declined; 
but  gladly  accepted  the  offer  of  guidance. 

When  the  family  were  all  together,  they  began 
to  talk  over  their  plans  with  Mr.  Benton.  He 
advised  them  to  spend  two  or  three  days  sight- 
seeing in   Tokio,  the   capital,  then   to  proceed 


A   TRICYCLE  TRIP   TO   ASAKUSA.  27 

overland  to  Kioto,  turning  aside  on  the  way  to 
see  the  gigantic  idol,  Dai  Butz ;  from  Kioto  they 
could  proceed  to  Kobe,  where  they  would  take 
steamer  for  Shanghai,  China.  After  consider- 
able discassion,  they  decided  on  adopting  this 
route.  For  this  afternoon  they  concluded  to 
stay  within  the  foreign  settlement,  to  go  to  the 
book  stores  and  get  a  map  of  Japan,  a  guide 
book,  and  some  other  supplies.  They  found 
that  the  houses  and  stores  of  the  foreigners 
were  built  mostly  of  stone  and  tiles,  with  tile 
roofe;  that  there  were  no  sidewalks,  and  that 
people  of  almost  all  nationalities  Avere  to  be 
seen  going  to  and  fro.  In  their  rambles  they 
passed  by  several  large  stone  buildings,  from 
whose  windows  came  a  delightfiil  fragrance. 
Into  one  of  these  Mr.  Benton  took  them,  and 
they  saw  several  hundred  women  standing  before 
charcoal  fires  in  stone  braziers,  kneading  some 
sort  of  leaves.  This  they  found  to  be  the  tea- 
leaves,  and  they  were  being  "re-fired"  before 
packing  them  in  boxes  to  send  to  America. 

"^^    OF  THE     "^rX 


28         THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

At  an  early  hour  the  next  morning,  the  party 
were  at  the  railroad  station,  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Benton,  who  was  to  be  their  guide  in  Tokio. 
After  a  ride  of  eighteen  miles,  they  reached 
the  capital.  Here  a  friend  of  Mr.  Benton's 
met  them  at  the  station.  They  were  soon 
seated  in  their  jin-riki-shaSy  a  carriage  holding 
one  or  two  persons,  and  pulled  by  two  Japanese 
coolies.  Mr.  Benton's  friend,  Mr.  Granger,  had 
brought  his  tricycle,  which  had  seats  for  two, 
and  he  invited  Bertie  to  sit  beside  him,  so  that 
he  might  explain  to  him  the  persons  and  places 
that  they  passed. 

So  they  trundled  along  up  the  Ginza  Avenue, 
by  the  side  of  the  street  cars,  under  the  wires 
from  which  the  electric  lights  were  suspended, 
and  by  houses  that  were  half  foreign  looking. 
It  seemed  to  Bertie  and  Bessie  that  they  had 
need  of  a  half-dozen  pairs  of  eyes  apiece  to  see 
all  the  curious  objects  that  they  passed.  Up  one 
street  and  down  another,  it  seemed  a  perfect 
maze,  and  yet  the  sun  steadily  shone  upon  their 


A   TRICYCLE  TRIP  TO   ASAKUSA.  29 

backs,  so  that  they  knew  they  were  not  going 
around  and  around. 

"Where  are  you  taking  us  to?"  Bertie  asked 
Mr.  Granger. 

"  To  the  great  Temple  of  Asakusa,  the  temple 
that  is  more  crowded  with  worshipers  than  any 
other  temple  in  the  city." 

"  Why  do  you  go  to  the  temple?  Are  there 
not  other  things  more  worth  seeing?"  Bertie 
asked. 

"No,"  said  Mr.  Granger;  "the  temples  of 
Asakusa  and  of  Shiba,  where  we  are  going 
this  afternoon,  are  the  most  famous  sights  of 
Tokio.  While  we  are  up  in  this  part  of  the 
city  we  may  run  over  to  Uy6no  Park  and  see 
the  Government  Museum;  but  you  will  soon  see 
that  the  temples  are  &r  more  curious  and  inter- 
esting." 

"  Of  course,"  said  Bertie,  "  I  have  heard  of 
temples ;  but  I  really  do  not  know  just  what 
they  are.  What  kind  of  a  place  is  this  temple 
of — ^what  do  you  call  it  ?  " 


30        THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"A  temple  is  not  like  a  Protestant  church  in 
America,  but  rather  like  the  Eoman  Catholic 
cathedrals  and  shrines.  You  know  that  Bud- 
dhism— to  which  these  temples  belong — and 
Roman  Catholicism  are,  in  some  respects,  as 
much  alike  as  two  peas  in  the  same  pod. 
Within  the  temple  grounds,  as  you  will  see, 
there  is  quite  a  collection  of  buildings — the 
temple  proper,  the  priests'  houses,  a  preaching 
hall,  and  the  like;  but  you  will  soon  see  for 
yourself." 

Mr.  Granger  and  Bertie  were  in  the  lead,  and 
the  jiifwnki-shas  came  after  them.  The  roads 
were  so  hard  and  smooth,  and  the  tricycle  so 
liglit  and  easily  propelled,  that  they  had  to  wait 
quite  frequently  for  the  pullers  of  the  jin-riki- 
shas  to  catch  up.  Sometimes  they  would  turn 
aside  from  the  direct  road,  in  order  to  see  some 
of  the  wayside  shrines  or  idols,  or  to  glance 
into  some  of  the  houses  or  stores,  whose  fronts 
were  entirely  open  to  the  street. 

After  a  little  they  came  to  a  place  where  great 


A  TRICYCLE  TRIP  TO  ASAKUSA.  31 

numbers  of  jin-rildnshas  were  standing,  and  Mr. 
Granger  said : 

"  Here  we  must  get  down." 

So,  leaving  their  tricycle  and  their  wraps  in  the 
care  of  the  jin-riki-sha  men  who  had  brought  the 
rest  of  the  party,  they  turned  up  a  narrow  street, 
made  only  for  pedestrians.  The  lane  was  lined 
with  booths  on  either  side,  where  candies,  sugared 
beans,  and  various  toys  were  the  chief  things  sold. 
Three  or  four  hundred  yards  further,  they  came 
to  a  gigantic  gateway,  guarded  by  two  hideous 
wooden  idols,  a  sort  of  Gog  and  Magog.  On 
the  wooden  gratings  before  these  idols  were 
hanging  huge  straw  sandals,  locks  of  hair,  * 
pictures,  and  other  votive  offerings. 

A  little  before  the  gate,  they  turned  to  the 
right,  and  passing  by  some  tea-houses,  where 
pilgrims  were  quietly  sipping  tea,  they  went 
to  the  Revolving  Library.  In  a  room  about 
twenty  feet  high,  Bertie  and  Bessie  saw  a 
bookcase  attached  to  the  ceiling  and  the  floor  • 
in  such  a  way  that  it  could  be  turned  around. 


32         THE   ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

It  contains  the  Buddhist  Bible,  of  over  three 
thousand  volumes. 

'As  nobody  could  ever  read  it  through,"  said 
the  priest  in  attendance,  to  Mr.  Granger;  "not 
even  in  a  life-time,  Shaka  will  accept  it  as 
read  through  once,  if  a  man  will  make  the 
case  revolve  three  times." 

Bertie  and  Bessie  could  not  budge  the  case,  but 
Mr.  Anson  was  able  to  do  so,  without  much  effort. 

Passing  by  a  five-storied  pagoda,  they  came  to 
the  temple  proper.  Climbing  up  some  steep 
steps,  they  entered  the  vestibule,  where  the 
crowd  were  worshiping.  Immense  lanterns 
were  hung  from  the  ceiling,  in  and  among 
which  darted  the  sacred  pigeons.  An  old 
woman  sat  by  an  incense-burner,  and  for  a 
small  coin  threw  a  pinch  of  incense  upon  the 
charcoal  fire  within.  In  front  of  the  main 
altar  was  a  great  coffer,  into  which  the  devotees 
threw  a  coin  before  beginning  to  pray.  Then 
they  would  rub  the  palms  of  their  hands  to- 
gether, and  tell  their  beads,  as  they  mumbled 


A  TRICYCLE  TRIP  TO  ASAKUSA.  33 

their  prayers,  looking  up  to  the  idol  within.  As 
fast  as  one  would  go  another  would  take  his 
place.  Some  would  clap  their  hands  aloud,  to 
attract  the  attention  of  the  goddess  within  to  the 
prayers  they  were  about  to  offer.  Occasionally 
one  would  go  to  a  priest,  buy  a  written  prayer, 
put  the  paper  in  his  mouth  and  chew  it  into 
a  "spit-ball"  and  then  throw  it  at  the  wire 
grating  before  the  idol;  if  it  stuck  fast,  his 
face  would  brighten  up  with  the  feeling  that 
the  prayer  would  be  heard ;  but  if  it  fell,  then 
he  would  go  away  looking  down-hearted.  Once 
in  awhile  a  well-dressed  man  or  woman  would 
pass  through  a  side  door  giving  a  fee  to  tlie 
priestly  door-keeper,  and  proceed  to  worship  in 
the  seclusion  within  the  grating,  away  from  the 
crowd. 

Just  here  Bessie  noticed  some  mothers  ap- 
proaching, carrying  their  little  babes,  and  they 
were  sickly,  delicate,  wizen-faced  little  things; 
the  babes  were  carried  on  the   mother's  back, 

between  their  inner  and  outer  garments. 
c 


34        THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"  What  are  they  going  to  do?"  asked  Bessie. 

"Watch  them,  and  you  will  see,"  said  Miss 
Kirby,  a  missionary  who  had  joined  the  party. 

The  mothers  drew  near  to  an  ugly  little 
wooden  idol,  placed  on  a  small  pedestal,  and 
then  reaching  over  their  shoulders,  took  the 
hand  of  the  little  baby,  and  first  rubbed  it  on 
the  old  idoFs  face,  and  then  on  the  sick  or  sore 
spot  on  her  child.  The  idol's  nose,  eyes,  and 
ears  were  almost  rubbed  off.  "That  is  Bind- 
zuru-sama,  the  God  of  Healing,"  said  Miss 
Kirby,  "and  the  mothers  think  that  he  will 
help  their  babies  to  get  well.  If  they  get  bet- 
ter, then  the  mothers  bring  their  bibs  and  fasten 
them  about  the  idoPs  neck,  as  you  see  them." 

Just  here,  an  old  priest  came  from  a  stand  on 
one  side  of  the  altar,  and  holding  up  a  gilded 
shrine  by  the  ring  in  its  top,  asked  Miss  Kirby, 
in  Japanese,  of  course,  if  the  little  girl  did  not 
want  to  buy  a  shrine  of  Kwanon-saraa,  the 
Queen  of  Heaven  and  Goddess  of  Mercy. 

^^What  for?"  said  Miss  Kirby. 


A  TRICYCLE  TRIP  TO  ASAKUSA. 


35 


"  Why,  to  take  home  with  her,  and  to  say  her 
prayers  to,  that  Kwanou  may  protect  her." 
"Kwanon  caii't  protect  her,"  said  Miss  Kirby; 


3HK1NE  OF  KWANON. 

'Uhat  is  only  a  piece  of  wood;  you  ought  to 
look  to  the  true  God,  in  heaven,  for  protection." 
On  the  invitation  of  another  priest,  the  party, 
first  taking  off  their  shoes,  went  in  through  the 
side  door,  around  the  inner  shrine.     At  one  side 


36         THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

was  a  private  altar,  where  private  "masses" 
were  said.  Here  a  priest  was  buildiDg  a  little 
bonfire  of  splints,  on  a  low  altar,  and  throwing 
into  the  fire,  every  now  and  then,  a  pinch  of 
incense.  What,  with  the  ringing  of  a  small 
bell,  the  tapping  the  incense  boxes  with  his 
"bauble,"  the  telling  of  his  beads,  and  the 
mumbling  of  a  sentence  of  Sanskrit  over  and 
over  again,  it  seemed  to  the  children  a  singularly 
senseless  jargon.  Miss  Kirby  had  often  seen  it 
before,  but  Bessie  noticed,  as  she  stole  a  glance 
into  Miss  Kirby 's  face,  that  tears  of  pity  were 
falling  from  her  eyes. 

On  the  main  altar  rested  a  shrine  of  the 
goddess  of  the  temple,  and  in  and  around  were 
great  numbers  of  smaller  idols.  On  one  side 
was  a  gigantic  mirror,  presented  to  the  temple 
by  a  wrestler,  as  a  votive  offering.  In  the 
temple  grounds  without,  were  all  sorts  of  ex- 
hibitions: a  wax- works'  show,  monkeys,  tamed 
birds,  performing  dogs,  photographers'  galleries, 
and  dear  knows  what  all. 


A  TRICYCLE  TRIP  TO  ASAKUSA.  37 

By  this  time  our  friends  were  thoroughly  tired 
and  heart-sick.  They  quickly  found  their  jin- 
rikishas  again,  and  Mr.  Granger  and  Bertie 
their  tricycle,  and  they  were  soon  whirling 
away  towards  Shiba;  where,  after  luncheon 
they  were  to  spend  the  afternoon. 


CHAPTER  III. 

^A^  AFTERNOON  IN  SHIBA,  TOKIO, 

A  FTER  leaving  Asakusa,  our  friends  went 
first  to  the  public  park  at  Uy^no,  where 
there  is  a  very  large  and  very  ugly  idol  of 
Buddha,  made  of  bronze,  a  weak  and  feeble 
imitation  of  the  great  idol  at  Kamakura.  After 
rambling  about  the  park,  visiting  the  great  mu- 
seum, and  looking  into  some  of  the  temples 
scattered  through  the  grounds,  a  search  for 
luncheon  began.  It  was  too  much  out  of  the 
way  to  go  to  Tsukiji,  where  most  of  the  for- 
eigners live,  so  they  rode  down  the  Tori — as 
the  chief  street  is  called — and  finally  drew  up 
before  a  fine  large  building,  along  whose  front 
was  strung  a  row  of  lanterns.  Passing  through 
the  kitchen,  which,  in  Japanese  restaurants,  is 
almost  always  in  the  front  of  the  house,  after 
relieving  their  shoes,  they  climbed  up  a  broad 

38 


AN   AFTERNOON   IN  SUIBA.  39 

ladder  to  a  pretty  room  above.  By  sliding 
screens,  the  host  shut  off  this  room  from  all 
the  others.  The  floor  was  covered  by  mats 
made  of  straw,  each  six  feet  long  and  three  feet 
wide,  and  about  two  inches  thick.  There  was 
no  furniture  in  the  room. 

The  Americans  seated  themselves  upon  the 
floor,  sitting  ou  their  heels  just  like  the  Japa- 
nese ;  this  seemed  easy  enough  for  a  little  while, 
but  soon  their  limbs  became  stiff  and  aching, 
and  they  were  glad  to  push  them  out  behind 
tliem.  Two  or  three  chubby-faced,  red-lipped 
girls  slipped  softly  through  the  sliding  screens, 
and,  bowing  to  the  floor,  began  to  express  their 
sense  of  the  honor  conferred  upon  the  house  by 
their  visitors.  They  had  brought  with  them  a 
fire-box,  with  a  handful  of  lighted  charcoal,  and 
a  tray  with  tobacco  and  tiny  pipes  upon  it. 
Tiiis  last  Mr.  Granger  sent  right  away,  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  waiter  girls. 

"This  is  jolly,"  said  Bertie. 

"Yes,  for  a  little  while,"  replied  Mr.  Benton; 


40         THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"but  when  you  go  for  months  this  way,  as  we 
do  on  missionary  tours,  it  becomes  monotonous." 

"Isn't  everything  nice  and  clean?"  Bessie 
noticed.  "  The  mats  are  so  white,  the  paper  on 
the  doors  is  so  clear  of  dirt,  and  everything 
looks  as  if  it  had  just  been  scoured." 

"Yes,"  Mr.  Anson  said,  "the  Japanese  are 
a  cleanly  people,  and  when  we  get  into  the 
interior,  as  we  go  overland  to  Kioto,  we  shall 
have  more  opportunities  of  seeing  it." 

Just  then  the  waiters  came  in,  bringing  some 
covered  bowls  upon  lacquered  trays. 

"Where  are  the  knives,  forks,  and  spoons?" 
cried  Bessie,  in  dismay,  as  a  tray  with  the  bowls 
upon  it  was  set  before  her.  "Are  we  to  eat  with 
our  fingers?  Why,  what  are  these  two  sticks 
for?  They  look  just  like  two  lead-pencils,  only 
that  they  have  not  been  cut  apart." 

"These  are  chop-sticks,"  Mr.  Benton  re- 
marked; "and  they  are  not  spilt  apart  so  that 
you  may  know  that  nobody  has  ever  eaten  with 
them  before." 


AN   AFTERNOON   IN  SHIBA.  41 

"Must  we  eat  with  them?"  said  Bertie,  in  a 
surprised  tone,  to  Mr.  Granger. 

"  Yes ;  that  is  what  they  are  for." 

When  they  uncovered  the  bowls,  they  dis- 
covered some  soup  in  one,  a  bit  of  fish  in 
another,  one  was  empty,  and  in  another  was 
something  that  they  did  not  recognize  as  having 
ever  seen  it  before.  Mr.  Anson  was  looking  at 
it  rather  suspiciously,  when  Mr.  Benton  re- 
marked : 

"That  is  chatoan  mushi;  it  is  a  kind  of 
custard;  you  put  in  your  chop-sticks,  and 
you  may  pull  out  almost  any  sort  of  an 
eatable." 

"Yes,"  said  Bertie,  attempting  a  joke;  "a 
Japanese  hash." 

The  waiter  girls,  who  remained  in  attendance, 
squatted  upon  their  heels  at  one  side,  were  look- 
ing with  curious  gaze  at  the  attempts  of  the 
party  to  use  the  chop-sticks.  Mr.  Granger  and 
Mr.  Benton  had  no  difficulty;  but  the  rest 
seemed  in  danger  of  going  away  hungry.     After 


42         THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

laughing  about  it,  and  after  a  number  of  mis- 
haps, owing  to  their  clumsiness,  Mr.  Benton 
said,  as  he  opened  his  satchel: 

*'  I  expected  this,  and  so  I  asked  my  wife  to 
put  in  here  some  such  tools  as  you  are  accus- 
tomed to  use,"  and  he  handed  them  each  a  fork 
and  a  spoon.  "Now  you  will  like  that  rice 
better,  I  think,"  he  continued,  "if  you  will 
put  a  little  of  this  sugar  and  condensed  milk 
upon  it." 

And  it  did  improve  it  very  greatly.  After 
considerable  merriment,  the  luncheon  was  fin- 
ished, the  bill  was  paid,  and  the  jin-riki-shas 
turned  towards  Shiba. 

After  uncountable  twistings  and  turnings, 
they  stopped  before  a  gigantic  red  gateway, 
two  stories  high.  Passing  through  this,  on 
foot,  the  American  visitors  walked  slowly  up 
an  avenue,  on  either  side  of  which  were  shrines 
and  priests'  residences.  In  one  of  these  shrines, 
an  old  shaven-headed  woman  was  in  attend- 
ance.    Bessie   said    to    her    mamma,   that  she 


AN   AFTERNOON   IN  SHIBA.  43 

thoujrht  she  was  "one  of  the  sweetest-faced 
old  ladies"  she  had  ever  seen. 

Around  the  walls  were  hung  a  great  many 
scrolls,  and,  as  the  old  lady  said  to  Mrs.  Anson, 
through  Mr.  Granger,  they  had  hundreds  more 
very  valuable  ones  in  the  chests  about  the 
ehrine.  A  little  beyond  this,  a  bulletin-board 
was  erected,  upon  which  shingles,  covered  with 
Chinese  characters,  were  placed. 

"Why,  what  is  that?"  asked  Bertie. 

"That,"  said  Mr.  Benton,  "is  the  way  the 
Japanese  have  of  publishing  the  names  of  the 
givers  of  money  towards  the  new  temple,  and 
the  amount  they  give.  There  is  the  Emperor's 
name  for  a  thousand  dollars,  and  they  run  down 
from  this  to  sums  of  ten  dollars." 

Just  here,  the  noise  of  tiny  hammers,  beating 
up(m  small  anvils,  was  heard,  and  a  humming 
sound  as  of  a  number  of  voices  repeating  some- 
thing in  concert.  Turning  to  the  building  from 
whence  the  sound  came,  and  after  taking  oif  their 
8hoc8,  lest  they  should  soil  the  clean  mats,  they 


44         THE  ANSOXS    IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

found  themselves  in  an  oblong  building,  in  the 
midst  of  an  audience  of  men,  women,  and 
children.  Beyond  a  railing,  in  front  of  the 
audience,  upon  a  high  pulpit,  squatted  a  priest, 
with  a  round,  jolly  face.  The  people  before 
him  were  repeating  a  prayer,  "  Nam-mam-nam- 
nam/^  for  several  minutes  thus,  and  then  sud- 
denly bursting  forth,  under  the  priest  leadership 
with,  ^^Namu  Amida  Bvisee/^ — meaning.  Hear, 
O  Salvation-Bringing  Buddha.  All  the  while 
some  old  ladies — the  choir,  Bertie  called  them — 
were  beating  with  little  mallets  upon  metal 
drums  before  them,  keeping  the  time  of  the 
nam-nams.  Then  of  a  sudden,  the  praying 
ceased,  and  the  shaven-headed  priest  began  to 
preach.  He  occasionally  told  stories  which 
made  the  people  laugh,  and  sometimes  he  spoke 
very  earnestly.  His  sermon  was  a  very  short 
one.  When  it  was  over,  a  number  of  attendant 
priests  came  forward  and  began  to  pray  and 
prostrate  themselves  before  an  idol,  which  was 
then   uncovered.     The  whole  ceremony  seemed 


AN  AFl^EKKOON   IN  SHIBA.  45 

to  consist  in  the  repetition  of  phrases — in 
Sanskrit  and  Chinese,  as  Mr.  Benton  remarked, 
and  which  not  even  the  priests  understood. 
After  the  service  was  ended,  some  of  the 
younger  priests  came  nearer  our  friends,  to 
see,  particularly,  the  lady  and  the  little  girl, 
who  were  greater  strangers  than  the  gentlemen. 
Mr.  Benton  made  use  of  the  opportunity  to 
ask  the  priests  if  they  really  understood  their 
worship,  and  to  try  to  tell  them  something 
about  Christianity.  In  leaving  the  building, 
slipping  his  hand  into  his  pockets,  he  brought 
forth  some  tracts  called,  "The  Story  of  the 
Cross,"  written  in  the  Japanese  charactei*s,  and 
gave  them  to  the  priests  and  people,  who  re- 
ceived them  with  many  expressions  of  thanks. 
Bertie  had  been  listening  while  Mr.  Benton 
was  speaking,  and  had  noticed  all  his  actions. 
Of  course,  he  could  not  understand  a  word  that 
was  said,  but  he  read  in  Mr.  Benton's  face  and 
in  the  tones  of  his  voice,  that  he  was  earnestly 
pleading  with  them  for  something,  and  the  word 


46        THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

F^sUy  which  he  could  distinguish  every  once  in 
awhile,  made  him  feel  certain  that  Mr.  Benton 
was  talking  of  Jesus.  It  was  done  so  quietly, 
so  simply,  and  so  courteously,  that  no  one 
scented  in  the  least  offended,  not  even  the 
priests. 

"  H'm,"  said  Bertie,  "  Mr.  Benton^s  a  good 
missionary,  anyhow.  I  wonder  if  they  are 
all  like  him." 

Beyond  the  preaching  hall,  the  new  temple 
stood.  It  was  a  square  structure,  having  a  high, 
curving  roof,  supported  by  immense  timbers. 

"Is  it  not  top-heavy?"  asked  Mr.  Anson. 

"No,"  replied  Mr.  Benton;  "the  Japanese 
believe  that  buildings  constructed  in  this  way 
better  stand  the  shocks  of  the  earthquakes, 
which  are  here  so  frequent.  Do  you  notice  this 
beautiful  wood?  Smell  these  chips;  is  not  tlie 
odor  delightful?  This  is  the  hinoki,  the  ^sun- 
wood,'  literally;  and  this  hard,  heavy  timber  is 
the  keyakiy  a  kind  of  elm.  And  here  is  some 
camphor  wood;   notice  how  strong  the  odor  of 


AN   AFTERNOON   IN  SHIBA.  47 

the  camphor  is  in  these  newly  cut  chips.  Do 
you  see  how  the  timbers  are  so  pinned  together, 
with  wooden  pegs,  that  some  of  them  can  sway 
just  a  little  ?  These  tiles  for  the  roof  are  made 
of  clay,  and  are  quite  heavy  also.  In  that  little 
room  right  in  the  centre  of  the  rear  end  of  the 
building  is  to  be  the  sanctum  sandcrrunij  the 
shrine  for  the  idol-god.  Do  you  notice  that 
they  are  making  it  lire-proof,  so  that  the  idol 
cannot  be  burned  up  if  the  temple  should  get 
on  fire  again  ?  Is  it  not  strange  that  the  Japanese 
should  worship  an  idol  who  cannot  keep  himself 
from  being  burnt?  But  we  must  go  to  the 
Tycoons'  Temples,  where  you  can  see  one  of  the 
most  beautifully  finished  temples  in  Japan. 
While  we  are  walking  across  to  one  of  these 
temples,  I  will  tell  you  about  their  history. 
"From  1616  A.  D.,  to  1872  A.  D.,  the  right- 
ful rulers  of  Japan,  the  MikadoSy  or  Emperors, 
were  hidden  away  in  their  palaces  at  Kioto, 
while  usurpers,  called  the  Shoguns,  or  Tycoons, 
were  the  real  rulers  of  Japan.    These  Shoguns 


48        THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

were  zealous  Buddhists;  the  greatest  of  the 
Shogunsy  Iy6-yasu,  took  one  of  the  sects  of  the 
Buddhists  under  his  protection,  and  removed 
their  chief  monastery  to  this  place.  Here,  be- 
tween 1596  and  1623,  the  great  temple  was 
built.  Yonder  gateway,  which  we  came  through, 
has  been  standing  since  1623.  As  each  of  the 
Shoguns  died  he  was  buried  either  here  in  Shiba, 
or  in  Uy^no,  or  at  the  town  of  Nikko,  far  to  the 
north.  The  tombs  themselves  are  very  plain 
structures,  but  before  each  tomb  a  magnificent 
temple  was  built;  all  of  these  are  among  the 
marvels  of  Japanese  art.  Now  we  must  ask 
this  old  priest  to  let  us  in.'' 

After  a  few  minutes  of  talk,  the  party  stepped 
to  a  side  door,  where  they  removed  their  shoes, 
and  proceeded  to  follow  their  priestly  guide. 
Within,  all  seemed  gloomy  and  dismal,  until  the 
priest  threw  open  the  doors  at  one  side  of  the 
temple  and  let  in  a  flood  of  sunlight.  Then 
they  stood  in  the  midst  of  a  blaze  of  gold.  The 
elaborate  sculptures,  the  brilliant  coloring,  the 


AN  AFTERNOON  IN  SHIBA.  49 

delicate  metal  work,  dazzled  their  eyes  with  their 
brilliant  beauty.  The  building  was  T  shaped, 
with  the  top  of  the  T  towards  the  front,  and  the 
slirines  well  in  the  rear. 

"In  ancient  days,  before  the  Mikado  was 
restored,"  continued  Mr.  Benton,  *'the  priests  sat 
in  the  front  apartment,  the  Tycoon's  family  just 
in  front  of  them,  and  up  near  the  shrines  only 
the  High  Priest  ever  went.  To-day  very  little 
reverence  is  paid  to  the  temples ;  the  people  are 
discouraged  from  coming  to  them,  for  political 
reasons,  as  one  can  readily  see.  The  foreigner 
even — who  used  to  be  hated  in  Japan — can  now 
go  where  formerly  only  the  High  Priest  dare 
venture.  You  notice  the  ceiling's  gorgeous 
paneling.  See  also  that  great  piece  of  carving; 
how  perfect  in  all  its  parts!  Yet  it  is  all  made 
from  one  long  timber.  Observe  the  lacquer 
work ;  how  hard  and  smooth  and  glossy  it  is." 

"What  are  in  those  boxes?"  asked  Bertie. 

"  Tlie  sacred  books.     Let  us  look  at  them;  for 

the  priest  will  allow  us." 
D 


60        THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

So  Mr.  Benton  opened  one  of  the  oblong 
boxes,  and  took  out  a  roll  tied  with  silken 
cords.  In  Chinese  characters,  beautifully  writ- 
ten, they  saw  the  sacred  Buddhist  books.  The 
whole  temple  was  beautifully  finished  in  all  its 
parts,  too  beautiful  to  find  words  to  describe  it. 
The  only  ugly  things — ugly  in  foreigners'  eyes — 
were  the  dragons,  the  griffins,  the  lions,  and 
other  animals  that  were  painted  on  the  walls. 

From  this  temple  they  passed  around  among 
the  tombs,  out  under  the  grand  old  trees,  by 
other  temples  scarcely  less  magnificent  than  the 
one  they  had  visited.  These  temples  are,  in 
reality,  kept  more  as  works  of  art  than  for  use 
in  worship.  Finally  as  the  sun  was  beginning 
to  set,  the  group  passed  away  to  the  depot,  and 
were  soon  flitting  along  the  shores  of  Yedo  Bay, 
towards  Yokohama. 

Tlie  next  day  was  the  Lord's  Day;  and, 
escorted  by  Mr.  Benton,  who  called  for  them 
early  in  the  morning,  Mr.  Anson  and  his  family 
climbed  up  the  "Blufi*'^  to  the  mission  chapel, 


AN  AFTERNOON   IN   SHIBA.  51 

anxious  to  get  a  chauce  to  see  how  the  native 
Christians  worshiped.  The  chapel  was  a  small 
building,  which  would  seat  about  a  hundred  and 
fifty  people;  it  had  paper  windows  and  a  matted 
floor.  A  tiny  organ  stood  in  front,  at  which 
one  of  the  missionary  ladies  was  seated,  while 
the  preacher,  a  native  Japanese,  was  seated  on 
one  side  of  the  table  that  served  as  a  pulpit,  and 
by  his  side  the  white-haired,  veteran  missionary, 
who,  for  ten  years  or  more,  had  laborefl  to  give 
to  the  Japanese  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  he 
had  labored  in  another  land  for  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  to  give  it  to  another  heathen  people. 
The  order  of  the  services  was  just  the  same  as 
in  Mr.  Anson's  church  at  Alton,  though  alto- 
gether in  the  Japanese  language.  Bertie  and 
Bessie  held  between  them  a  hymn  book,  in 
which  the  hymns  had  been  written  out  in  the 
same  kind  of  letters  used  in  English  books,  so 
tliat,  after  listening  to  a  verse  or  two  in  silence, 
they  were  able  to  join  in  singing  "Jesus,  lover 
of  my  soul"  in  its  Japanese  translation.     There 


62        THE  ANSONS    IS  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

was  no  other  part  of  the  service  that  they  could 
understand;  and  so  they  watched  the  face  of  the 
preacher  and  studied  their  neighbors,  who  were 
giving  devout  attention  to  the  sermon. 

"  How  earnest  he  is ! "  thought  Bertie.  "  How 
bright  and  quick  his  mind  seems  to  be !  I  guess 
that  he  thoroughly  believes  all  that  he  says. 
Why,  this  must  be  the  man  of  whom  Mr. 
Benton  was  telling  papa,  who  is  such  a  good 
scholar,  and  who  chooses  rather  to  be  a  Christian 
preacher,  on  poor  pay,  than  to  get  a  good  situa- 
tion under  Government.  I  wonder  why  that 
old  gentleman  wanted  to  come  away  oif  here, 
when  he  was  as  old  as  he  was;  he  must  have 
cared  a  great  deal  about  making  these  people 
Christians.  Mr.  Benton  said  that  Dr.  Browning 
was  not  going  to  America  ever,  he  guessed ;  that 
he  is  going  to  stay  here  until  he  dies.  Well,  he 
must  be  a  good  man.  I  guess  that  the  purser 
did  not  know  such  men  as  the  doctor  when  he 
talked  against  missionaries." 

The  service  being  at  an   end,  many  of  the 


AN  AFTERNOON   IN  SHIBA.  53 

Japanese  were  introduced  to  Mr.  Anson  and  his 
family  by  Dr.  Browning  and  Mr.  Benton;  and 
some  of  them  could  speak  the  English  very  well. 
The  Sunday-school  here  began ;  and  Mr.  Benton, 
with  the  Ansons,  left  to  attend  service  in  Eng- 
lish, in  the  Union  Church,  in  the  settlement. 
Here  they  seemed  almost  at  home  again.  If  it 
had  not  been  for  some  Japanese  who  sat  near 
them,  and  for  some  red-coats  from  the  British 
men-of-war,  as  well  as  some  sailors  from  the 
American  vessels,  they  would  have  fancied  them- 
selves back  in  America. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  JIN-RIKI-SEA  JAUNT  TO  THE  IDOL,  DAI  BUTZ. 

rriHERE  are  very  few  carriage-roads  in  Japan, 
but  a  great  many  bridle-paths.  Horses  and 
carriages  cannot,  therefore,  go  very  far  in  any 
direction.  There  are  a  few  dozen  miles  of  rail- 
way, all  told,  and  many  more  miles  projected. 
Mr.  Anson  and  his  party  determined  upon  fol- 
lowing the  Tokaido,  the  road  from  Tokio — or 
rather  from  the  point  where  the  Yokohama  road 
joins  the  Tokaido — to  Kioto;  Tokio  being  the 
"Eastern  Capital"  and  Kioto  the  "Western 
Capital/'  They  might  have  taken  one  of  the 
sidewheel  ocean  steamers  which  the  Japanese 
"Three  Diamonds"  Steamship  Company  pur- 
chased from  some  Americans,  and  have  gone 
ground  by  sea  to  Kob6,  and  thence  up  to  Kioto 
t)y  railroad ;  but  this  would  have  been  a  monot- 
onous journey.     The  Tokaido  is  the  road  over 

54 


A  JIN-RIKI-SHA   JAUNT  TO   DAI   BUTZ.      55 

which,  until  recent  times,  the  princes  and  their 
retainers  were  accustomed  to  travel  in  coming  to 
Tokio.  Japan  was  opened  to  the  western  world 
by  Commodore  Perry  in  1853,  and,  many  years 
passed  before  it  was  absolutely  safe  for  foreigners 
to  travel  in  the  interior.  Bertie  had  been  read- 
ing in  one  of  the  books  of  Japan,  of  the  murder 
of  Mr.  Richardson  on  the  Tokaido  in  1862,  and 
felt  a  little  nervous  when  his  father  announced 
that  they  would  follow  the  Tokaido  to  Kioto, 
turning  off  on  the  way  to  visit  the  gigantic  idol 
of  Dai  Butz.  But  he  was  reassured  when  Mr. 
Benton  told  him  how  that  murder  took  place. 
The  Daimio,  or  Prince  of  Satsuma,  was  coming 
to  Tokio  with  his  train.  The  Japanese  are  a 
proud,  haughty  race,  and  when  the  foreigner 
and  his  companions,  instead  of  turning  aside 
for  the  procession  to  pass,  sought  to  force  their 
horses  right  through  the  crowd,  the  Japanese 
felt  that  their  Prince  was  insulted,  and  so  at- 
tacked Mr.  Richardson.  Two  American  gentle- 
men and  an  English  lady,  who  had  stopped  at 


56         THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

one  side  of  the  road,  and  who  politely  permitted 
the  procession  to  pass  them,  were  not  harmed. 
The  jin-rikir-shaSy  of  which  the  travelers  had 
already  had  some  experience  in  Tokio,  and  by 
which  they  were  to  travel  to  Dai  Butz,  and  to 
the  foot  of  the  mountains,  were  invented  by 
an  American  missionary,  it  is  said,  in  1870. 
The  first  few  were  imported  from  San  Fran- 
cisco; but  now  they  are  made  in  Japan,  where 
over  a  hundred  thousand  are  in  use.  They  are 
two-wheeled,  covered  carriages,  with  springs, 
holding  one  person  comfortably,  and  drawn 
by  men.  Except  when  ascending  a  hill,  they 
go  at  the  rate  of  five  or  six  miles  an  hour. 
The  streets  and  roads  are  full  of  them,  waiting 
to  be  hired  at  a  cost  of  less  than  ten  cents  an 
hour.  The  men  will  take  you  from  Yoko- 
hama to  Dai  Butz,  and  back — a  distance  of 
eighteen  miles  each  way — in  the  same  day, 
for  seventy-five  cents.  All  labor  is  cheap  in 
Japan,  and  a  jinriki's  wages  are  counted  to  be 
very  good  indeed. 


A  JIN-RIKI-SHA  JAUNT  TO   DAI   BUTZ.      57 

Sending  their  trunks  around  by  steamer,  they 
carried  with  them  only  the  clothing  absolutely 
needed,  and  some  biscuits,  canned  milk,  and 
canned  meats,  sugar,  and  some  few  other  eat- 
ables, to  add  to  such  provision  as  the  Japanese 
hotels  would  supply.  They  were  detained  for 
a  little  while  awaiting  their  passports,  with- 
out which  they  would  not  be  permitted  to  travel 
more  than  twenty-five  miles  from  any  of  the 
cities  where  foreigners  can  live.  When  the  mail 
brought  the  passport  from  the  American  Minis- 
ter, they  started  at  once  for  Dai  Butz. 

Village  after  village,  lying  right  along  the 
road,  was  passed  through.  Occasionally  they 
saw  a  peasant  woman  with  a  load  of  rice  upon 
her  back,  which  she  bore  to  those  who  drew 
the  rice  through  an  iron  comb,  so  threshing 
it  from  the  straw.  At  other  times  they  saw 
men  beating  the  grain  in  huge  mortars  with 
great  mallets,  to  separate  the  hulls  from  the 
grain. 

Every  little  while  they  stopped  at  the  wayside 


58         THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

tea-houses,  where  the  coolies  smoked  their  tiny 
pipes,  and  where  the  guests  quaffed  tea — without 
milk  or  sugar — from  tiny  cups.  Finally  the  jin- 
riki-shas  drew  up  in  front  of  one  of  the  large 
restaurants  of  Kamakura.  • 

This  city  was  the  seat  of  government  from 
1192  A.D.,  to  about  1450  A.D.  There  are 
very  many  old  buildings  here,  mainly  temples. 
While  waiting  for  their  luncheon  to  be  prepared, 
under  the  guidance  of  one  of  the  jin-riki-sha 
men,  named  Tahi,  the  visitors  proceeded  to 
explore  the  Temple  of  Hachiman.  This  tem- 
ple has  stood  nearly  seven  hundred  years,  but 
was  burned  in  1828,  and  a  new  one  erected. 
Passing  up  over  steep,  rounded  bridges,  Mr. 
Anson  and  the  foreigners  walked  between  two 
ponds  covered  with  the  large  white  flowers  of 
the  lotus.  The  main  temple  is  painted  red.  In 
the  temple  is  a  permanent  exhibition  of  historic 
treasures.  Around  its  walls  are  hundreds  of 
small  idols.  One  large  idol  is  that  of  Jizo. 
Once  a  certain  soldier  was  condemned  to  be  be- 


A  JIN-EIKI-SHA  JAUNT  TO   DAI   BUTZ.      59 

headed.  The  executioner  found  that  he  could 
make  no  impression  on  the  man's  neck,  but 
that  his  sword  became  dented  and  nicked.  On 
inquiry,  it  was  found  that  the  victim  had  con- 
cealed an  image  of  Jizo  in  his  queue,  and,  so 
the  story  goes,  Jizo  had  protected  him.  Then 
he  was  pardoned,  and  a  shrine  to  Jizo  was 
erected. 

Affcer  luncheon  it  was  decided  to  walk  to  Dai 
Butz  and  back,  as  it  was  only  a  little  more  than 
a  mile  from  Kamakura.  But  we  will  let  Mrs. 
Anson  tell  the  story  of  the  visit  to  Dai  Butz, 
and  how  it  impressed  her.  She  had  promised 
the  Mission  Band  a  long  letter  when  she  had 
seen  something  which  she  thought  would  in- 
terest them,  and  so,  while  resting  in  the  hotel 
at  Yumoto  before  ascending  the  mountain,  she 
carried  out  her  promise. 

(        "  Hotel  Tumoto, 

(  Foot  of  Hakine  Mountains. 

"My  Dear  Young  Friends:  I  promised 
you  a  good   long  letter,  and  this  is   my   first 


60         THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

chance  to  keep  the  promise.  I  want  to  tell 
you  about  our  trip  to-day,  from  Yokohama  to 
Dai  Butz,  that  gigantic  bronze  image,  whose 
picture  you  have  seen  in  one  of  the  Sciopticon 
lectures  on  Japan.  But  let  me  begin  at  the 
beginning.  Mr.  Benton  sent  word  to  Tahi  to 
bring  his  carriage — ■jin-rikisha  he  calls  it.  He 
does  not  harness  a  pony,  for  Tahi  is  both  pony 
and  driver;  he  himself  is  to  pull  the  carriage, 
which  is  only  a  big  baby-coach  on  two  wheels. 
It  is  a  long  pull  for  Tahi,  full  eighteen  miles 
from  Yokohama  to  Dai  Butz.  Yokohama  is  all 
astir,  early  as  it  is,  for  the  Japanese  are  always 
up  at  sunrise.  The  bay,  just  before  us,  is  alive 
with  the  little  boats  which  the  sendos — boatmen 
I  should  say — ^are  sculling  toward  the  English 
steamer  which  came  in  during  the  night. 

"We  pass  down  through  the  native  town 
and  out  into  the  country.  Yes,  country;  but 
do  not  think  of  meadows  of  grass,  of  fields  of 
waving  wheat,  or  bending  corn,  of  zigzag,  or 
post-and-rail   fences,  of   cows   and   horses,  and 


A   JIN-RIKI-SHA  JAUNT  TO  DAI  BUTZ.      61 

pigs  and  geese,  for  there  is  scarcely  any  grass 
to  be  seen;  no,  not  even  a  plot  as  large  as 
that  in  your  front  yard,  only  some  tufts  here 
and  there  by  the  roadside,  and  on  the  dykes 
between  the  rice  swamps.  There  are  no  fences, 
for  there  are  neither  cows,  nor  pigs,  nor  geese, 
and  very  few  horses. 

"  The  farm-houses  are  all  gathered  in  villages ; 
and,  as  in  the  Saviour's  time  in  Palestine,  the 
sower  goes  forth  to  sow.  No  fields  of  rice  are 
yet  to  be  seen,  only  the  bare,  dismal,  muddy  rice 
swamps  are  left.  But  if  the  low  lands  are  now 
dismal,  the  hills  are  not.  The  green  pines  tower 
high  up  in  the  air,  and  the  glossy  green  leaves 
of  the  camelia  contrast  with  the  red  flowers 
with  wliich  almost  all  the  winter  through  they 
have  been  covered.  Camelias,  not  small,  feeble, 
delicate,  like  those  the  gardeners  grow  at  home, 
but  large  as  the  apple  tree.  The  violets,  white 
and  blue,  are  showing  their  heads.  The  spar- 
rows are  twittering  as  they  get  ready  for  going 
to  housekeeping;    the  crows  coarsely  cawing; 


62        THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

surely  there  are  '  three  times  three  in  every 
tree/  and  the  Japanese  say  these  cries  are  their 
plaintive  love  tones. 

"  We  are  not  alone ;  the  road  is  full  of  people, 
some  in  jin^Mrshas,  but  most  afoot.  We  meet 
no  wagons,  for  there  are  none  to  meet;  no  cars, 
for  none  run  in  this  direction.  The  houses  in  the 
farming  villages,  with  their  thatched  roofs  and 
raised  floors,  are  all  open.  The  sliding  doors,  or 
windows,  or  walls — call  them  what  you  please — 
are  removed  from  the  three  or  four  sides,  leav- 
ing only  the  posts  that  support  the  roof.  We 
can  see  only  one  piece  of  furniture,  a  chest  of 
drawers.  The  hihachij  or  fire  box,  with  its  hand- 
ful of  glowing  charcoal,  with  the  tiny  bronze 
tea  kettle  over  it  on  a  tripod,  stands  in  the  centre 
of  the  room — the  houses  generally  have  but  one 
room.  A  few  mottoes  taken  from  the  Buddhist 
books,  are  hanging  on  the  rear  wall;  and  be- 
side them  the  little  god-shelf,  with  the  idol  in 
the  centre,  two  vases  with  green  leaves  in  either 
of  them  on  each  side  of  this,  and  two   lamps. 


A  JIN-RIKI-SHA  JAUNT  TO  DAI  BUTZ.      63 

eaucers  of  oil  with  wicks  afloat  on  either  side 
of  these,  and,  perhaps,  a  cup  of  rice  and  one  of 
tea,  placed  there  as  offerings  this  morning.  The 
floor  is  carpeted,  not  with  Brussels  nor  Ingrain, 
but  with  rice-straw  mats,  each  three  feet  by  six 
feet,  and  two  inches  thick.  The  kitchen  stove, 
an  open  stone,  charcoal  brazier,  stands  on  the 
beaten  ground  in  a  corner,  and  over  it  a  large 
closet,  where  in  one  half  are  kept  the  dishes, 
and  in  the  other  the  quilts  that  are  brought  out 
at  night  and  laid  on  the  floor  for  sleeping  on. 
Only  these  and  nothing  more,  except  the  people. 
"Everything  is  as  neat  and  clean  as  can  be. 
The  woodwork  is  not  painted,  but  it  is  washed 
two  or  three  times  daily.  The  floors  of  the 
little  porches  glisten;  for  when  they  are 
washed,  a  little  soot  is  mixed  with  the  water, 
and  plenty  of  elbow-grease  applied.  Soap,  there 
is  none ;  they  do  not  need  it,  and  never  use  it. 
Mamma,  with  little  baby  strapped  on  her  back 
under  her  outer  garment,  ls  busy,  with  both 
hands  thus    set  free,  sweeping  or    scrubbing; 


64         THE   ANSONS    3N   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

obasan — or  grandmother — is  mending  eome- 
body^s  stockings,  and  some  of  the  children  are 
reading,  some  outside  playing  their  favorite 
game   of    battledore  and   shuttlecock. 

"In  front  of  the  house,  the  shoes,  from 
mamma's  big  ones  to  baby's  wee  ones,  all 
stand  in  a  row  just  as  they  left  them  when 
they  entered.  For  they  sit  on  their  heels  on 
the  floor.  They  spread  their  trays  with  dinner 
on  them,  on  the  floor;  they  sleep  on  the  floor; 
so  the  floor  must  be  kept  clean,  and  every  one 
goes  about  in  his  stocking  feet.  There  are  no 
hats  hanging  around;  mamma  never  gets  any 
spring  bonnet;  and  Koshi  never  has  to  ask: 
'Where's  my  hat?'  for  they  never  wear  any, 
not  even  when  they  are  little  babies,  and  are 
exposed  all  day  long  to  the  hot  sun.  Their 
square-cut,  blue  cotton  clothes  are  gathered  at 
the  waist  by  a  girdle  or  sash — the  girls'  sashes 
are  just  *  gorgeous.'  There  are  no  bias  plaitings, 
nor  cuts,  nor  gores ;  the  sleeves,  long  and  square, 
are  pockets  as  well. 


A  JIN-RIKI-SHA   JAUNT  TO  DAI  BUTZ.      65 

"But  we  will  leave  them  and  go  on.  Now 
we  come  to  a  bridge,  and  up,  up,  up,  then  down, 
down,  down,  just  like  going  over  an  arch.  We 
pass  the  mountains;   children  come  out  crying: 

"  ^Anata  ohaiyo  ! '     ^Anata  ohaiyo  ! ' 

"This  means  *  good-morning,  good-morning/ 
Then,  handing  us  great  bunches  of  red  and  pink 
and  white  and  variegated  camelias,  they  scamper 
off  before  we  can  thank  them. 

"At  a  tea-house,  for  a  tempo  apiece,  we  get 
a  cup  of  tea  and  some  cakes  and  sugar-coated 
beans.  A  tempo  is  a  large  oval  coin  of  gun 
metal,  about  as  heavy  as  a  silver  dollar,  but 
worth  only  about  four-fifths  of  a  cent  in  our 
money.  On  through  more  rice-flats,  and  occa- 
sionally through  fields  where  barley  or  wheat 
has  been  grown,  and  over  more  hills,  through 
more  farming  villages,  and  we  come  to  Kama- 
kura — Kamakura,  a  city  that  might  celebrate  ten 
centennials,  for  it  is  over  a  thousand  years  old ; 
and  seven  hundred  years  ago  it  was  a  most 
celebrated    city.      Old    houses,   old    trees,    old 


66         THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

moats,  with  moss-covered  stones,  old  bridges, 
old  monasteries,  old  temples,  whose  steps  have 
been  hollowed  out  by  the  feet  of  the  thousands 
of  worshipers  who,  during  these  hundreds  of 
years,  have  passed  up  and  down. 

"Again  we  stop  at  a  tea-house  for  our 
luncheon.  After  taking  off  our  shoes,  we  are 
shown  to  a  little  room  in  the  second  story,  or 
rather  a  little  room  was  made  for  us,  for  the 
pretty  waiting-maid  deftly  put  the  paper  slid- 
ing-doors  in  the  grooves,  and  we  are  shut  in. 
After  we  were  rested,  we  again  started  out. 

"Dai  Butz  is  only  a  mile  and  a  half  away. 
We  passed  beneath  great  bird-rests,  which  are 
upright  pillars  of  stone,  with  two  stone  slabs  on 
their  tops.  We  came  to  a  great  red  gateway, 
fifty  feet  high.  In  compartments  on  either  side 
are  two  gigantic  red  idols,  a  sort  of  Gog  and 
Magog,  the  guardians  of  the  entrance.  Before 
the  idols  are  wire  screens,  such  as  protect  store 
windows;  and  hanging  on  these  are  mementoes 
of  the  visits  of  pilgrims — giants'  straw-sandals, 


A  JIN-RIKI-SHA   JAUNT   TO   DAI   BUTZ.      67 

locks  of  hair,  pictures,  garments,  cooking  uten- 
sils, and  nobody  knows  what  all. 

"But  what  is  the  man  doing  with  the  paper 
in  his  hand  ?  He  is  reading  something  that  is 
written  on  it.  Now  he  puts  it  in  his  mouth, 
chews  it,  makes  a  'spit-ball'  of  it,  and  throws 
it  at  the  grating.  It  sticks,  and  he  looks  happy. 
The  paper  contained  his  prayer,  and  because  it 
adhered  to  the  wire  grating,  he  thinks  his  prayer 
has  been  heard  by  tlie  gods.  If  it  had  fallen  to 
tlie  ground,  he  would  have  thought  that  the 
gods  would  not  hear  him. 

"Just  now  the  road  seemed  to  end  in  a  clump 
of  trees.  But  we  followed  the  road,  and  there — 
beautiful!  wonderful! — there,  right  before  us — 
and  we  have  not  been  permitted  to  see  it  until 
just  the  right  moment  for  getting  in  the  best 
position  to  perceive  its  beauty — there  sits  Dai 
Butz  on  the  lotus  lily.  There  he  has  sat,  as  he 
sits  to-day,  for  six  hundred  years,  without 
ehcher  from  sun,  or  wind,  or  rain,  or  snow, 
or  earthquake;  not  some  ugly,  hideous  monster, 


68         THE  ARSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

but  the  beautiful  idol,  Dai  Butz,  with  face 
turned  to  the  ocean — the  great  Pacific,  which 
stretches  away  for  five  thousand  miles,  until  its 
waters  wash  the  shores  of  America — ^as  though 
looking  for  the  coming  of  the  ships  that  are  to 
bring  those  who  shall  destroy  his  worship — there 
sits  the  bronze  image  of  the  Great  Buddha. 
The  name  is  made  up  of  Dai,  great,  and  Butz, 
Buddha.  He  is  sitting  in  Oriental  style,  upon 
his  heels;  his  thumbs  are  brought  together;  the 
head  is  bent  forward;  and  the  eyes  fastened 
upon  the  thumb  nails.  The  position  is  a  fixed, 
easy  one,  nothing  strained  or  unnatural.  The 
features,  the  limbs,  the  drapery,  are  in  perfect 
proportion,  and  in  perfectly  natural  arrangement. 
Behind  and  beyond,  the  hills  come  sloping  down, 
and  are  always  clothed  with  green,  and  furnish 
a  beautiful  background  for  the  beautiful  idol. 

^'  The  idol  is  not  without  expression.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  all  expression,  and  expressive  of 
one  great  thought — it  teaches  the  one  great 
lesson   of   Buddhism.     The  ^pose,'  the   expres- 


A  JIN-RIKI-SHA   JAUNT  TO   DAI   BUTZ.      69 

sion,  indicate  coDtemplation,  or  active  uncon- 
sciousness, self-absorption.  Buddha  is  wrapt  in 
thought.  We  need  no  guide  to  tell  us  of  its 
meaning.  And  it  is  all  on  so  gigantic  a  scale — 
fifty  feet  high.  Who  cast  it,  who  designed  it, 
who  was  its  artist  architect,  no  one  can  tell.  He 
is  gone,  forgotten ;  but  his  work  remains.  But 
our  enchantment  is  broken.  We  are  reminded 
that  it  is,  after  all,  an  idol,  as  we  are  jostled  by 
the  white-clad  pilgrims,  who  come  bowing  again 
and  again,  mumbling  over  their  prayers.  Sad, 
sad,  sad!     We,  too,  draw  nearer. 

"Even  when  looked  at  closely,  there  is  no 
coarseness  about  the  idol ;  the  bronze  plates  are 
joined  evenly,  and  time  has  scarcely  marked  it, 
except  to  mellow  and  enrich  its  color.  The 
bronze  has  more  gold  mixed  in  the  alloy  than 
bronzes  usually  have.  We  entered  the  idol— r 
for  it  is  both  an  idol  and  a  templerrra  window  in 
the  back  lets  in  tfie  light.  "W^e  cjimbed  up  steep 
steps,  and  stood  on  a  level  with  his  chin.  Idols 
small  and  great,  idols  handsome  and  ugly,  idols 


70        THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

grotesque  and  hideous,  idols  of  stone  and  of 
wood,  idols  of  bronze  and  of  gilt,  idols  of  all 
sorts  and  shapes  and  sizes,  are  arranged  around 
its  interior.  Other  foreigners  have  been  here 
before  us,  and  some  have  left  their  marks,  their 
autographs.  One  vandal  has  printed,  in  large 
black  letters,  on  the  breast  of  a  beautiful  gilt 
image  of  Kwanon,  the  'Queen  of  Heaven,' 
WEBB. 

"  I  hope  that  you  are  keeping  up  your  reading 
on  missions,  and  that  you  are  following  us  in  our 
journeys  with  your  loving  prayers. 
-  "Affectionately  yours, 

"  Margaret  Anson." 

It  was  rather  a  difficult  task  for  Mrs.  Anson 
to  get  her  letter  finished,  as  every  once  in  awhile 
the  sliding  doors  would  be  moved  aside  by  some 
curious  Japanese,  anxious  to  see  the  foreign  lady 
and  her  little  girl.  But  we  will  return  to  the 
arrival   of  our   friends   at  the  Hotel  Yumoto. 


CHAPTER  V. 

OVER  THE  MOUNTAINS  TO  KIOTO. 

rriHE  hotel  at  Yumoto,  and  its  surroundings, 
were  delightful.  On  one  side  rose  the 
mountains  in  all  their  grandeur,  and  on  the 
other  flowed  a  sparkling  creek.  As  the  hotel- 
life  along  the  road  is  very  much  the  same  as  at 
Yumoto,  we  may  as  well  take  a  peep  at  the  tired 
travelers  here  as  in  any  of  the  hotels  along  the 
Tokaido  to  Kioto. 

"Would  you  like  a  bath?"  was  the  first 
question  asked  by  Dr.  Olden,  who  had  joined 
the  travelers  a  little  way  back,  and  who  was 
going  on  a  missionary  tour  on  the  other  side 
of  the  mountains. 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Anson,  immediately.  "  Yes, 
indeed,  for  I  am  very  tired  and  dusty." 

"  But  I  think  I  had  better  tell  you  about  the 
hotel  baths  in  Japan,  so  as  to  prepare  you  for 

71 


72         THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

what  may  be  before  you.  Just  here  I  think  we 
can  make  an  arrangement  with  the  landlord,  by 
which  our  party  can  have  the  exclusive  use  of 
one  of  the  baths  for  a  few  hours,  so  that  we  can 
go  in  one  by  one." 

"Why,''  said  Bertie,  "how  do  you  go? — by 
twos?'' 

"Yes,  and  sometimes  by  dozens.  The  com- 
monest bath  you  will  find  is  a  box  three  feet 
square  and  two  feet  deep,  filled  with  hot  water. 
It  is  a  bath,  not  baths,  remember.  About  three 
or  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  tub  is  filled, 
and  a  charcoal  fire  is  built  in  the  little  stove  let 
into  one  side  of  the  tub.  When  the  water  is 
hot,  notice  is  given  to  the  favored  guest,  who 
takes  his  bath;  when  he  is  done,  another  steps 
in,  and  so  they  go  on  until  late  in  the  evening. 
Sometimes  forty  or  fifty  people  use  the  same 
bath — the  same  water.  In  Yumoto,  and  some 
other  places,  the  baths  are  larger,  six  or  seven 
feet  square;  and  there  are  several  of  them.  The 
hot  water  comes  in  an  incessant  stream  from  the 


OVEB  THE  MOUNTAINS   TO   KIOTO.  73 

bowels  of  the  earth;  it  is  boiled  in  Mother 
Nature's  kettle.  Of  course,  the  water  is  always 
changed.'' 

Dr.  Olden  saw  the  landlord,  and  after  a  little 
parleying  and  the  promise  of  an  extra  cliadai,  or 
a  fee,  one  of  the  baths  was  shut  off  by  sliding 
doors,  and  it  was  reserved  for  the  foreign  guests. 
When  they  were  through  with  their  baths,  they 
all  voted  them  the  best  baths  they  had  ever  tried. 
The  minerals  of  the  hot  waters  seemed  to  extract 
all  the  weariness  from  their  bodies.  After  a 
light  supper — light  because  there  was  no  very 
substantial  food  to  be  had — all  prepared  for  bed. 
A  screen  was  run  through  the  room,  giving  the 
choicest  section  to  Bessie  and  her  mamma,  while 
the  gentlemen  and  Bertie  slept  in  the  adjoining 
room,  which  was  screened  off  by  papered  sliding 
doors.  There  were  no  bedsteads,  no  hair  mat- 
tresses, no  feather  pillows,  nor  yet  any  blankets. 
Two  quilts  were  doubled  up;  sheets,  which  the 
guests  had  brought  with  them,  and  which  were 
plentifully  dusted  with  flea-powder,  were  spread 


74         THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

over  the  quilts.  A  quilt  was  rolled  up  for  a 
pillow,  and  traveling-rugs  were  used  for  cover- 
ings. After  family  worship,  all  turned  in,  and 
soon  the  "melody  of  the  purling  brook,"  as  the 
doctor  called  it,  lulled  them  to  sleep. 

Soon  after  daylight  the  hotel  was  alive  again ; 
the  guests  ate  their  breakfast  hurriedly,  so  as  to 
get  an  early  start  for  the  climb  up  the  moun- 
tains. A  basket  chair,  slung  from  a  pole,  to  be 
carried  on  the  shoulders  of  two  coolies,  was  se- 
cured for  Mi-s.  Anson,  and  one  for  Bessie.  The 
rest  preferred  to  walk.  The  road  was  built 
hundreds  of  years  ago.  Gigantic  cryptomeria 
line  the  way.  Up,  up  they  clambered  over  the 
huge  round  bowlders  with  which  the  road  is 
paved — save  the  mark!  The  ascent  was,  in 
some  places,  wonderfully  steep,  almost  at  an 
angle  of  forty-five  degrees.  They  climbed  three 
thousand  feet  before  they  reached  the  top ;  then 
came  a  slight  descent  of  three  or  four  hundred 
feet,  and  they  reached  Hakon6,  twelve  and  a 
half  miles,  in  five  hours.     The  air  was  so  brae- 


OVER  THE  MOUNTAINS  TO  KIOTO.  75 

ing  and  pure,  that   they   felt  as   if  they   had 
scarcely  climbed  at  all. 

They  determined  to  go  to  0  Jigoku  in  the 
afternoon.  0  Jigoku  means,  literally,  Great 
Hell ;  that  is  the  proper  name,  the  name  given 
by  the  Japanese  a  century  or  more  ago.  After 
a  boat  ride  on  Hakon6  Lake,  they  commenced 
another  climb  of  a  thousand  feet.  As  they 
ueared  the  place  to  which  they  were  going — 
and  the  way  was  exceedingly  difficult — vegeta- 
tion ceased,  and  the  odor  of  sulphur  was  per- 
ceptible. The  guide  now  went  in  advance, 
carefully  testing  the  way,  to  see  if  it  would 
bear  them.  They  could  hear,  as  they  entered 
the  place,  the  boiling  of  the  water  but  a  few 
feet  beneath  them.  Soon  they  were  able  to  see 
the  steam  arising  from  various  vent  holes,  and, 
after  a  little,  could  see  the  water  itself,  boiling 
and  bubbling,  and  casting  oif  its  sulphury  odor. 
All  around  lay  masses  of  sulphur.  The  ground, 
in  places,  was  so  soft  that  they  could  thrust  their 
Alpine  stocks  almost  through  the  crust.    It  was  a 


76         THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

really  dangerous  place,  and  they  did  not  tarry 
very  long  there.  The  Japanese  had,  fittingly, 
one  might  think,  placed  an  image  of  the  God  of 
Hell,  Yema,  in  the  midst  of  the  Solfatara.  They 
took  a  bath  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  in  hot  water, 
strongly  impregnated  with  sulphur,  and  returned 
to  the  hotel  at  Hakon^.  After  a  supper  on  de- 
licious mountain  trout,  which  Dr.  Olden  cooked, 
they  tumbled  into  bed.  They  were  not  in  a 
hurry  to  get  up  the  next  morning,  as  all  ached 
more  or  less. 

Since  Dr.  Olden  would  have  to  remain  in 
Hakon6  for  a  day  or  two,  to  attend  a  quarterly 
meeting  of  the  native  Christians  of  this  district 
that  was  to  be  mainly  a  business  meeting,  he 
offered  to  find  a  guide  for  Mr.  Anson  and  Bertie 
to  take  them  to  Atamiour,  the  mountains  by  the 
sea.  Just  then  some  Japanese  urchins  began  to 
cry  out,  ^'Ijin-san,  ijin-san/'  "Foreigners,  for- 
eigners.'' Dr.  Olden  looked  to  see  who  it  was, 
and  recognized  two  gentlemen  of  his  acquaint- 
ance, merchants  in  Yokohama.     They  had  been 


OVER  THE  MOUNTAINS  TO  KIOTO.  77 

a  little  way  from  the  village  of  Hakon6  on  a 
fishing  expedition,  and  had  set  out  this  morning 
to  find  a  guide  to  take  them  to  Atami.  All 
were  agreed  that  it  was  a  very  fortunate  meet- 
ing. Soon  all  were  ready  for  the  start.  Mrs. 
Anson  and  Bessie  stood  in  front  of  the  hotel  and 
watched  the  travelers  until  they  were  out  of 
sight.  For  the  rest  of  the  journey,  I  cannot  do 
better  than  to  quote  from  Mr.  Anson's  letter  to 
Deacon  Root,  since  he  wrote  it  very  soon  after 
the  exciting  trip  over  the  hills: 

''A  few  days  ago  we  planned  to  visit  Atami- 
by-the-sea,  a  place  famed  for  its  hot  sea-water 
baths,  impregnated  with  sulplmr,  and  for  a 
spouting  geyser.  It  was  a  fifteen-mile  walk  up 
and  down  the  mountains.  There  were  three 
ranges  to  be  crossed.  The  narrow  foot-path 
wound  around  as  near  to  the  tops  of  the  moun- 
tains as  possible,  yet  there  was  much  going  up 
and  down.  I  judge  that  there  was  a  descent  of 
about  five  thousand  feet  and  two  thousand  feet 
of  ascent  in  going  to  Atami. 


78        THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"Our  plan,  at  starting,  was  not  very  definite. 
Our  guide  assured  us  that  it  was  not  a  long  walk 
to  Higanesan,  from  whose  tops  ten  provinces  of 
Japan  can  be  seen;  and  we  thought  that,  per- 
haps, we  should  return  from  there  and  not  go 
to  Atami.  But  when  we  got  there,  we  deter- 
mined to  go  on.  We  reached  Atami  at  four, 
took  a  bath,  and  ate  our  dinner.  While  engaged 
in  this,  the  wind  shifted  and  the  clouds  began 
to  gather  thickly.  We  had  eaten  leisurely,  as 
we  had  concluded  to  stay  all  night  at  Atami, 
even  without  our  luggage.  The  wiser  ones 
shook  their  heads  now,  though,  and  declared  that, 
if  it  rained,  it  would  be  a  tremendous  task,  and 
a  dangerous  one,  to  climb  the  wet  and  slippery 
mouiitain  paths.  To  go  back  at  night  seemed 
the  smaller  evil.  Our  guide,  who  had  lost  his 
way  once  during  the  afternoon,  declared  that  he 
was  now  sure  of  his  way,  and  that  he  would 
prepare  torches  for  us.  So  we  made  up  our 
minds  to  go.  If  we  could  get  up  to  the  top  of 
the  first  mountain,  a  climb  of  over  three  thou- 


OVEB  THE  MOUNTAINS  TO   KIOTO.  79 

sand  feet,  we  could  get  our  torches  at  an  old 
temple  there. 

"We  marched  off,  in  Indian  file,  on  a  steady 
tramp.  Quickly  the  hill  was  left  beneath  us, 
then  the  mountain,  and  just  as  it  began  to  be 
quite  dark,  we  saw  the  temple  before  us.  We 
quaffed  some  hot  tea  while  our  guide  was  getting 
ready  the  torches.  The  torches  were  made  of 
bamboo  grasses,  tied  tightly  together;  they  were 
about  six  feet  long,  and  six  inches  in  diameter. 

"But  we  were  doomed  to  be  disappointed. 
When  we  were  on  the  mountain  top,  the  wind 
fiiirly  howled  about  our  ears;  to  carry  a  torch 
lighted  was  out  of  the  question.  We  were  all 
lightly  clad  for  walking ;  so  when  we  rested  to 
take  breath,  we  crouched  down  behind  a  rock,  or 
sat  in  some  hollow  in   the  path.     Fortunately, 

Mr.  S had  been  accustomed   to  following 

trails  in  the  woods  of  the  Adirondack  Moun- 
tains when  off  hunting.  Our  guide  could  not 
help  us  in  the  least ;  he  was  perfectly  bewildered ; 
so  we  installed  Mr.  S as  leader.     He  saw 


80         THE   ANSOXS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

the  path;  we  only  saw  his  white  canvas  shoes. 
There  were  many  dangerous  portions  of  the 
road,  where  the  path  lay  close  beside  precipitous 
places.  We  came  safely  by  all  these,  however, 
thank  God!  We  could  not  yet  light  our  torches; 
the  wind  was  too  strong,  though  it  seemed  to  be 
dying  away,  and  we  were  getting  into  the  pro- 
tection of  trees.  Finally,  we  could  go  on  no 
longer,  and  flung  ourselves  upon  the  ground  in  a 
sheltered  place,  and  took  some  refreshment  in 
the  shape  of  crackers  and  raspberry  jam.  There 
was  a  solitary  bottle  of  Avater.  How  good  our 
luncheon  tasted !  It  seemed  to  put  new  life 
into  us. 

"  Off  we  started  again ;  now  with  our  guide 
holding  his  lighted  torch,  going  in  advance. 
One  of  us  followed  close  after  him,  acting  as 
pilot,  calling  out:  ^Look  out!'  ^step  up!'  or 
^step  down!'  ^slippery  place  !'  ^root!'  Svater!' 
and  the  like.  It  was  quite  serious  business,  I 
assure  you.  So  for  awhile  longer.  Then  we 
saw  a   light   in   advance.     What   could   it  be? 


OVER  THE   MOUNTAINS  TO   KIOTO.  81 

We  were  a  little  anxious.  Finally  Mr.  V. 
called  out: 

"  ^  It  is  our  landlord  and  his  sons  come  out  to 
hunt  us  up.' 

"We  were  glad  to  see  them,  indeed.     In  an 


FUJI-YAMA. 


hour,  we  reached  the   hotel,  and  dropped  into 
bed  for  a  sound  sleep." 

A    few    mornings    after,    the    luggage    was 

F 


82         THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

gathered  together,  and  after  a  breakfast  on 
mountain  trout  and  biscuits,  the  descent  of  the 
mountains  was  commenced.  Since  it  was  so 
gradual  and  easy,  even  Mrs.  Anson  and  Bessie 
walked.  A  little  more  than  half-way  down  the 
mountain  road  they  came  to  the  Fuji-viewing 
Terrace,  whence  a  grand  view  of  the  sacred 
mountain,  Fuji-yama,  is  to  be  obtained.  For 
a  day  or  two  they  were  to  travel  around  the 
base  of  this  mountain,  which  rises  to  a  height 
of  fourteen  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level. 
Pilgrims  were  constantly  met,  clad  in  their 
white  robes,  and  with  little  bells  tied  to  their 
girdles,  indicating  that  they  had  made  the 
ascent  of  Fuji-yama,  and  their  banners  showed 
that  they  belonged  to  the  sect  of  "Sons  of  Fuji." 
At  the  foot  of  the  mountains  Bashas,  a  kind 
of  diligence  carriage,  were  taken.  Away  across 
the  paddy-swamps,  where  the  rice  was  being 
cultivated,  or  through  the  tea-gardens,  now  up 
slight  hills,  now  along  by  the  sea-shore,  away 
they  sped.     Day  by  day  passed   by,  each   full 


OVER   THE   MOUNTAINS   TO   KIOTO. 


83 


to  the  brim  with  gladsome  enjoyment,  until  the 
city  of  Kioto  came  in  sight. 

Just  on  the  outskirts  of  Kioto,  when  paasing 
at  a  tea-house  for  a  rest,  Bertie,  who  had  wan- 
dered a  little  further  on  the  road  to  stretch  his 


FLOWING   INVOCATION. 


limbs,  came  to  a  small  stream  of  water  running 
by  the  road-side,  in  the  middle  of  which  was 
a  cloth  suspended    at   the    corners   upon  four 
bamboo  sticks,  with  a  dipper  resting  in  it. 
"What  can  this  be  for?''  thought  Bertie. 


84         THE   ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

Just  then  several  Japanese  peasants  came  by, 
stopping,  however,  long  enough  to  dip  up  some 
wat^r,  and  each  poured  a  ladleful  upon  the 
cloth,  letting  it  run  through.  While  Bertie's 
bewilderment  was  increasing,  a  young  Japanese, 
dressed  in  foreign  clothes,  stopped  to  rest  under 
a  tree ;  and,  instead  of  the  usual  Ohaiyo,  said 
"  Good-morning." 

"Do  you  speak  English,"  asked  Bertie. 

"Yes,  I  am  studying  in  the  mission-school 
in  Kioto." 

"Can  you  tell  me  what  that  is  for?" — point- 
ing to  the  cloth  and  dipper. 

"That  is  the  Nagare  Kanjo,  the  Flowing 
Prayer.  Our  peoj)le  believe  that  when  a 
mother  dies  while  giving  birth  to  a  child  she 
goes  into  hell.  She  must  stay  there  until  this 
cloth  wears  out  and  the  water  no  longer  drips 
through,  but  runs  in  a  steady  stream ;  then  her 
soul  is  delivered  from  hell.  But  often  the  priests 
sell  a  tough  cloth  to  poor  people  who  cannot 
pay  much,  and  a  thin,  worn  cloth  to  the  rich." 


OVER  THE   MOUNTAINS   TO   KIOTO.  85 

"  What  a  shame ! "  said  Bertie. 

"Yes,  it  is;  but  the  people  are  learning  the 
priests'  tricks,  and  soon  every  one  will  see  that 
these  deceivers  are  seeking  their  own  good,  and 
not  the  good  of  the  nation;  and  it  will  help 
to  do  away  with   our  old  heathen  faith." 

Just  here  the  party  came  up,  and  paused  long 
enough  to  listen  to  Bertie's  story  of  the  Flowing 
Invocation.  Then,  courteously  thanking  the 
Japanese  student,  they  passed  on  towards  the 
sacred  city. 


CHAPTER  YT. 

THE  SACRED  CITY  OF  KIOTO, 

"ITT HAT  Jerusalem  is  to  the  Jews,  and  Benares 
is  to  the  Hindus,  and  Mecca  is  to  the 
Mohammedans,  is  Kioto  to  the  Japanese.  To 
tell  all  that  Bertie  and  Bessie  saw  while  in 
Kioto,  would  fill  a  volume.  Just  before  they 
sailed  from  Kobe,  below  Kioto,  for  China,  they 
were  talking  over  that  which  had  struck  them 
most  forcibly  in  their  visit  to  Kioto.  Bessie 
thought  that  she  would  remember  longest  the 
view  of  the  city  from  the  mountains  east  of 
Kioto,  to  which  they  had  one  day  climbed; 
but  Bertie  thought  that  he  would  never  forget 
their  visit  to  the  mission-school  and  theological 
seminary,  and  their  afternoon  in  the  great 
Temple  of  Nishi-Hongwanji.  But  we  will  go 
back  to  their  entrance   to   the  town. 

86 


THE  SACRKD   CITY   OF   KIOTO.  87 

Passing  by  several  hotels,  wearied  and  tired 
from  the  long  jin-riki-sha  ride,  and  anxious  to 
reach  a  resting  spot,  they  finally  drew  up  before 
the  Mariyama  Hotel,  the  place  where  foreigners 
generally  stop  when  in  Kioto.  When  Dr. 
Olden  left  them  at  Shidzuoka,  he  had  employed 
for  Mr.  Anson  as  a  guide,  a  young  man  named 
Sasaki,  who  spoke  English  remarkably  well,  and 
who  was  very  familiar  with  the  country  through 
which  they  were  to  travel.  It  was  at  Sasaki's 
suggestion  that  the  Mariyama  Hotel  was  chosen. 
As  it  was  growing  rapidly  dark  and  the  for- 
eigners were  very  weary,  they  were  not  dis- 
posed to  look  farther,  at  any  rate,  and,  as  it 
turned  out  later,  they  could  not  have  found 
any  better  hotel. 

After  a  light  supper,  and  a  settling  of  accounts 
with  the  jin-rikisha  pullers,  and  a  brief  walk 
about  the  hotel  garden,  the  party  settled  down 
to  rest.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Anson  occupied  one 
room,  from  the  corner  of  which  a  part  was 
screened  off  with  a  six-fold  screen  for  Bessie's 


88         THE   AXSOXS    IX    ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

use,  while  Bertie  with  Sasaki  occupied  an  ad- 
joining room, 

Sasaki  watched  with  great  curiosity  while 
Bertie  took  out  his  pocket  Testament  before 
undressing,  read  for  a  little,  and  then  kneeled 
upon  the  matting  to  pray. 

"  Where  are  your  gods  ?  "  asked  Sasaki. 

"  Why,  don't  you  know  that  there  is  but  one 
God,  and  that  he  forbids  us  to  make  any  image 
of  him?  I  thought  that  you,  who  can  speak 
such  good  English,  would  know  that,"  replied 
Bertie. 

"No,  I  learned  my  English  at  the  Univer- 
sity, and  they  never  said  anything  about  the 
American  God." 

"No,"  added  Bertie,  "he  is  not  an  American 
God;  he  is  the  God  of  all  nations  and  all 
worlds." 

Then,  as  they  were  lying  side  by  side,  there 
followed  a  long  conversation  about  the  Christian 
religion.  Finally,  Sasaki  asked  Bertie  to  let 
him   see  his  "sacred   book,"  and  on  taking   it 


THE  SACRED   CITY   OF   KIOTO.  89 

he  went  to  the  lamp  and  began  reading  the 
first  chapter  of  Matthew's  Gospel.  The  frequent 
Nai-uhodos  showed  how  deeply  he  was  interested. 
Finally,  laying  down  the  Testament,  he  bent  his 
head  in  thought,  then  taking  up  the  Testament 
again,  he  turned  back  as  if  trying  to  find  some- 
thing he  had  read.  Bertie  was  lying  quietly, 
watching  with  anxious  interest  and  waiting  for 
Sasaki  to  say  something.  After  Sasaki  had 
found  that  which  he  was  looking  for,  he  bent 
over  his  head,  laid  the  Testament  open  before 
him,  and  commenced  to  read  in  a  low  voice: 
"  Our  Father  which  art  in  Heaven." 
Then,  as  if  satisfied,  he  laid  himself  down. 
He  was  very  restless,  as  if  unable  to  sleep. 
Finally,  Bertie  said: 

"What  do  you  think  of  what  you  read?" 
"  Why,  I  thought  you  were  asleep." 
"  No,  I  could  not  go  to  sleep ;  I  was  anxious 
about  you.     I  wish  very  much  that  you  were  a 
Christian." 

"Well,  I  never   knew  anything   about   this. 


90         THE   ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

I  heard  our  priests,  of  course,  saying  that  the 
Jesus  religion  was  a  bad  religion,  and  that  we 
should  go  to  hell  if  we  left  our  old  worship  and 
became  Christians;  and  I  never  thought  much 
about  it/' 

"Well,  you  will  think  about  it  now,  won't 
you?" 

"Yes,  I  will." 

"  Will  you  let  me  make  you  a  present  of  my 
Testament?"  said  Bertie.  "I  can  easily  get 
another  when  we  get  to  Kob^." 

"Yes;   and  I  thank  you  very  much." 

This  was  the  end  of  the  conversation,  but 
not  the  end  of  Sasaki's  interest  in  Christian- 
ity. For,  after  they  had  returned  to  America, 
Mr.  Anson  received  a  letter  from  one  of  the 
missionaries  in  Kioto,  saying  that  a  few  days 
after  they  had  gone  he  happened  to  meet  Sasaki. 
When  he  mentioned  that  he  was  a  missionary, 
Sasaki  drew  out  Bertie's  Testament  and  asked  if 
that  was  his  religion.  On  being  told  that  it  was, 
Sasaki  asked  if  he  might  ask  some  questions. 


THE  SACRED   CITY  OF   KIOTO.  91 

The  missionary  encouraged  and  helped  him,  in- 
vited him  to  his  school  and  home  and  church ; 
and,  it  resulted,  after  several  months  of  patient 
inquiry  on  Sasaki's  part,  in  his  becoming  a 
Christian. 

On  sliding  aside  the  windows,  the  next  morn- 
ing, Mrs.  Anson  was  surprised  at  the  charming 
view.  The  grand  old  spreading  fir-trees,  the 
lovely  garden,  the  richly  wooded  slope  beyond, 
and  between  was  the  plain  of  the  vast  city,  with 
its  beautifully  proportioned  and  elegantly  shaped 
pagodas  rising  every  here  and  there  in  and 
about  the  city.  For  some  time  she  stood  en- 
joying the  scene;  then  calling  Mr.  Anson  and 
Bessie,  they  sat  upon  the  balcony  and  watched 
the  scene  below  them.  In  one  of  the  little 
dwellings  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  the  doors  had 
all  been  pushed  aside,  and  the  woman  of  the 
house  was  bustling  about  getting  the  breakfast 
ready.  Soon  she  was  joined  by  her  husband 
and  child,  and  they  saw  them  stepping  to  one 
side  of  the  room  where  the  husband  pushed 


92         THE   ANSONS    IN    ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

aside  the  doors  of  the  god-shelf,  on  which  were 
some  images,  and  below  the  shelf,  in  the  recess, 
was  hanging  a  scroll  picture  of  the  Seven  House- 
hold Gods.  Offerings  were  placed  on  the  shelf, 
they  bowed  in  prayer,  and  then  turned  to  the 
morning  meal.  Later  in  the  day,  Bertie,  at 
Bessie's  request,  bought  a  scroll  like  that  in  the 
servant's  house,  and  another  with  the  picture  of 
the  foremost  of  the  Household  Gods,  Fukuroku 
Jin,  the  god  who  gives  long  life  to  his  worshipers. 
He  has  a  great,  tall  head,  grown  very  large  by 
thinking  so  much.  His  eyebrows  and  beard 
are  white  and  snowy.  The  tortoise  and  the 
crane  are  Fukuroku  Jin's  pets.  Sasaki  pointed 
to  the  graceful  form  of  the  goose  in  the  picture, 
and  said: 

"Do  you  know  that  when  we  Japanese  wish 
to  compliment  a  person,  we  compare  him  to  the 
wild  goose?" 

After  breakfast  they  went  for  a  day's  picnic 
to  the  Eastern  Mountains,  the  Higashi  Yama,  for 
Mr.  Anson  thought  that  if  they  could  get  a  bird's- 


THE  SACRED  CITY   OF   KIOTO.  93 

eye  view  of  the  city  and  surrounding  country, 
they  would  much  more  enjoy  their  rambles 
through  the  city  and  among  its  temples.  This 
opinion  proved  correct.  A  magnificent  prospect 
over  town  and  country  was  spread  before  them. 
The  city  stretches  north  and  south,  and  the 
streets  are  laid  out  like  those  of  Philadelphia, 
in  regular  right  angles. 

Kioto  has  nearly  three  hundred  thousand  in- 
habitants, and  over  a  thousand  temples.  It 
began  to  be  an  important  place  about  eleven 
hundred  years  since.  Away  in  the  northern 
section  of  the  city  is  the  palace,  while  in  the 
extreme  south  the  railroad  station  could  be 
})lainly  seen,  and  the  railroad  stretching  away,  a 
glittering  thread,  towards  Kob6.  Not  far  from 
the  station,  the  monstrous  temjile  of  Nishi 
Hongwanji  could  be  plainly  seen,  and  other 
temples  and  pagodas  scattered  hither  and  thither. 

Well  on  in  the  afternoon,  the  picnickers 
returned  to  the  city.  At  the  hotel  they  found 
a  numl)er  of  curio  dealers  waiting  to  sell  to  the 


94         THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

foreigoers  curiosities  in  bronze  and  bamboo,  iu 
ivory  and  silk,  works  of  art  and  ornament,  as 
well  as  useful  objects.  By  Sasaki's  advice,  Mr. 
Anson  bought  nothing  of  them,  but  waited 
until  he  could  go  out  among  the  stores.  Besides 
the  fact  that  these  dealers  asked  a  much  higher 
price  than  the  articles  were  worth,  they  were  not 
such  as  Mr.  Anson  wished  to  carry  home  with 
him. 

In  the  early  evening  they  took  a  stroll  among 
the  stores,  \^here  Mr.  Anson  purchased  a  number 
of  discarded  idols,  and  where  he  secured  a  large 
number  of  volumes  of  picture  books  with  en- 
gravings by  famous  Japanese  artists,  chief  of 
whom  was  Hokusai.  The  next  day  they  had 
planned  to  visit  the  temple  of  the  Hongwanji, 
but  it  rained  steadily  all  day,  so  that  they  were 
kept  house-bound.  This  gave  them  a  chance  to 
write  up  their  letters,  and  to  examine,  with 
Sasaki's  help,  the  picture  books  they  had 
bought.  Hour  after  hour  passed  rapidly  away 
in  this  pleasant  occupation.     Sasaki  had  stories 


THE  SACRED  CITY   OF   KIOTO.  97 

to  tell  concerning  most  of  the  pictures — fables, 
parables,  and  historic  occurrences.  The  re- 
ligious element  of  the  Japanese  nature  appeared 
in  almost  every  picture,  and  very  much  informa- 
tion concerning  their  religious  views  was  gained 
from  the  pictures.  One  curious  work  was 
Hokusai's  "One  Hundred  Views  of  Mount 
Fuji,''  another  was  his  "Man  Girafu,"  or  "Ten 
Thousand  Pictures."  In  one  of  these  books, 
Bertie  noticed  a  picture  of  a  man  driving  the 
devils  out  of  his  house,  on  the  eve  of  the  New 
Year,  with  beans  that  had  been  blessed  by  the 
priest.  This  Hokusai  is  the  most  famous  and 
most  popular  of   all   Japanese  artists. 

When  Bertie  rose  the  next  morning,  he  went 
quickly  to  see  how  the  weather  might  be,  for  one 
rainy  day  in  a  Japanese  hotel  is  quite  enough  to 
tax  one's  patience.  He  was  delighted  to  find 
the  air  wondrously  pure  and  the  sky  clear,  while 
a  strong  breeze  was  rapidly  drying  up  the  mud. 

The  next  few  days  were  spent  in  visiting  the 

most   noted   temples    under   Sasaki's    guidance. 
G 


98         THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

From  Kob6,  Bertie  wrote  to  his  Sunday-school 
teacher  about  their  visit  to  one  of  the  most 
famous  of  Kioto's  temples,  that  of  the  Nishi 
Hongwanji : 

"My  Dear  Teacher:  Since  we  came  to 
Kioto,  I  have  seen  so  many  beautiful  temples 
and  so  many  curious  things,  that  I  hardly  know 
where  to  begin  in  writing  to  you.  Before  I 
write  of  our  sight-seeing,  I  want  to  tell  you  that 
the  young  Japanese  who  is  our  guide  seems  in- 
terested in  Christianity,  and  he  often  reads  in  my 
Testament.  The  day  before  we  left  Kioto,  we 
went  to  the  great  temple  of  the  Hongwanji. 
Sasaki,  our  guide,  tells  me  that  in  the  year  1262, 
a  man  named  Shinran  Shonin,  a  sort  of  Martin 
Luther,  founded  a  sect  called  the  Monto  sect,  as 
a  protest  against  the  ritualistic  habits  of  some 
other  Buddhists.  The  Monto  sect  is  the  most 
powerful  sect  in  all  Japan ;  some  of  its  priests 
have  studied  in  England.  The  Monto  sect  has 
temples  in  all  the  great  cities,  with  vast  en- 
closures and  huge  sweeping  roofs. 


THE  SACRED   CITY   OF   KIOTO.  99 

"  When  we  went  to  see  this  temple,  we  saw  also 
the  great  priest,  Akamatz ;  he  spoke  a  few  words 
to  us  in  very  pure  English.  It  is  a  beautiful 
temple.  The  walls  have  golden  panels,  or, 
rather,  the  sliding  doors  are  covered  with  gold- 
leaf,  with  pictures  of  birds  and  flowers  painted 
upon  them.  The  roof  is  held  up  by  round 
pillars  made  of  hinoki,  or  sun- wood.  The  altar 
is  painted  in  black  lacquer,  the  same  that  we  see 
on  the  beautiful  Japanese  trays  and  cabinets. 
The  shrine  is  very  beautiful.  I  asked  Sasaki 
where  the  idols  were,  and  he  told  me  that  they 
did  not  have  any,  for  the  Monto  sect  does  not 
believe  in  idol  worship.  Yet  I  remember  that 
in  the  Monto  Temple  in  Tokio  they  had  one 
idol,  which,  we  were  told,  was  the  quintessence 
of  all  the  gods.  It  is  a  vast,  dim,  silent  temple. 
I  noticed  that  one  flower  in  particular  was 
painted  on  the  walls,  and  cast  in  bronze;  papa 
said  that  it  was  a  lotus  flower,  and  the  priest 
said  that  it  meant  purity;  for,  as  purity  grows 
out  of  the  filth  of  men's  hearts,  so  the  lotus 


100      THE   ANSONS    IX   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

grows  out  of  slime  and  mud.  Out  in  the 
gardens  were  many  very  beautiful  objects,  but 
they  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  temple. 

"Yester- 
day we  took 
a  trip  to 
Hiogo,  and 
we  saw  the 


HIOGO   BUDDUA. 


beautiful  image   of    Buddha,  a   photograph    of 
which  I  send  to   you   in  this   letter. 


THE  SACRED   CITY   OF   KIOTO.  101 

"  We  often  talk  about  home,  and  when  we  get 
back  I  shall  have  many  things  to  show  you  and 
to  tell  you. 

"  Your  affectionate  scholar, 

"Bertie  Anson." 


CHAPTER  VIL 

TO  THE  LAND  OF  TEAS  AND  QUEUES. 

TTIARLY  one  morning,  a  day  or  two  later,  the 
steamer  sailed  from  Kob6  for  Shanghai, 
China.  Though  the  steamer  would  sail  for 
some  days  to  come  within  the  limits  of  the 
Empire  of  Japan,  and  though  the  Ansons 
would  once  more  set  foot  on  Japanese  soil, 
yet  the  visit  to  Japan  was  practically  over. 
As  they  leaned  over  the  stern  of  the  steamer, 
watching  the  fast  disappearing  houses  of  Kob6, 
the  entire  family  seemed  to  be  absorbed  in 
thought. 

"I  wonder  if  I  shall  ever  see  Japan  again," 
said  Bertie  to  himself.  "  I  hope  so,  for  I  feel  as 
if  I  was  leaving  home.  I  wonder  how  Sasaki 
will  get  along.  I  hope  that  he  will  become  a 
Cliristian.  If  he  does,  why,  may-be  I  have  had 
something  to  do  with  it.     Perhaps  I  can  come 

103 


TO   THE   LAND   OF   TEAS   AND   QUEUES.    103 

back,  when  I  get  to  be  a  man,  as  a  missionary  to 
Japan." 

The  steamer  was  named  the  Hiroshima  Maru, 
and  carried,  at  the  mast-head,  the  flag  of  the 
company  to  which  she  belonged,  a  company 
composed  entirely  of  Japanese,  the  Mitsu  Bishi 
Company,  whose  symbol  is  but  a  translation  of 
its  name,  three  diamonds  arranged  with  their 
points  touching.  The  steamer  was  a  side- 
wheeler,  with  comfortable,  airy  cabins;  not  so 
large  nor  so  fast  as  the  screw-propellers,  but 
much  more  comfortable,  except  in  severe  storms. 

After  leaving  Kob^,  the  steamer  ploughed  its 
way  through  the  Inland  Sea  of  Japan,  famed 
for  its  beautiful  scenery.  It  was  like  a  great 
lake,  yet,  in  reality,  it  was  but  an  inlet  of  the 
ocean.  Through  the  whole  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  of  its  length,  one  can  always  see  the 
shore,  and  often  the  steamer  approaches  quite 
close  to  it.  Fleets  of  junks  were  passed,  and 
once  a  small  steamer  plying  between  Nagasaki, 
Simoneseki,  and   Kob6.     Simoneseki  is  at  the 


104      THE  AN80NS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

other  end  of  the  Inland  Sea,  but  since  foreigners 
are  not  permitted  to  land  there,  it  not  being  an 
open  port,  the  Ansons  had  to  be  content  with  the 
view  from  the  steamer's  deck.  But  as  they 
were  to  have  a  day  and  a  half  in  Nagasaki, 
they  did  not  mind  the  loss. 

The  harbor  of  Nagasaki  is  very  much  like 
the  harbor  of  Rio  Janeiro,  in  South  America. 
It  is  a  bay  surrounded  by  wooded  hills,  with  its 
mouth  seaward;  just  in  the  opening,  a  sort  of 
natural  breakwater,  lies  the  Island  of  Pappen- 
berg. 

"Have  you  ever  heard  the  story  of  that 
island,"  asked  Mr.  Anson. 

"It  seems  to  me  that  I  have  heard  the  name, 
and  I  remember  thinking  that  it  sounded  unlike 
a  Japanese  word;  but  I  don't  remember  the 
story,"  said  Mrs.  Anson. 

"  Oh,  tell  it,  papa,"  Bertie  and  Bessie  asked, 
in  the  same  breath. 

"Suppose  we  wait  until  we  get  ashore,  then 
we  will  climb  up  the  hills  where  we  can  get  a 


TO  THE  LAND  OF  TEAS  AND  QUEUES.  105 

good  view  of  the  island,  when  I  will  tell  it  to 
you." 

Since  they  were  not  encumbered  with  baggage, 
the  Ansons  had  no  difficulty  in  speedily  getting 
ashore.  For  several  hours  they  strolled  through 
the  narrow  streets  of  Nagasaki,  among  its  one- 
storied  houses.  Back  from  the  houses,  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  they  came  to  the  Temple  of 
The  Ever-merciful  Buddha,  with  its  gigantic 
roofs. 

Ascending  the  well-worn  stone  steps,  they 
were  soon  inside  the  temple,  where  worship  was 
just  about  to  begin.  Clouds  of  incense  filled 
the  air,  and  the  long-drawn,  oft-repeated  prayer, 
Namu  Amida  Butsee,  was  heard.  The  peo- 
ple began  to  count  the  beads  upon  their  rosa- 
ries, the  priests  to  beat  the  drums,  while  the 
chief  priest  proceeded  to  raise  the  veil  before 
the  idol.  After  a  little  the  sacred  books  were 
brought  by  an  attendant,  and  a  pile  placed  by 
the  side  of  each  squatting  priest.  Then  at  a 
signal  from  the  chief  priest,  all   the  while  in- 


106      THE   ANSONS   IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

toning  a  prayer,  the  priests  took  up  volume 
after  volume,  and  began  to  swing  the  leaves 
open  and  shut,  thus  with  each  volume  three 
times.  All  the  while  the  chief  priest  kept 
tapping  some  bronze  vases  before  him,  with 
his  bawble,  while  he  intoned  a  prayer  and 
threw  incense  upon  the  brazier.  When  all 
the  books  had  been  opened  and  shut — in  their 
estimation,  just  as  good  as  reading  them  all 
through — the  veil  was  drawn  before  the  shrine, 
and  the  service  was  over  for  the  day.  In  the 
rear  of  the  temple  they  saw  an  old  grave- 
yard, in  which  w^ere  grave-stones  with  the  sym- 
bol of  the  lotus  flower,  and,  frequently,  a  San- 
skrit letter. 

After  a  luncheon  of  fish  and  rice,  with  a  few 
biscuits  and  some  condensed  milk,  the  An  sons, 
guided  by  one  of  the  coolies,  climbed  the  steep 
hill  in  the  rear  of  the  town.  This  was  arranged 
in  great  Steps,  and  was  cultivated  all  the  way  to 
the  top.  From  the  summit  a  beautiful  view  of 
the  city  and  harbor  was   to  be  had.      As   they 


t 


TO   THE   LAND   OF   TEAS  AND   QUEUES.    107 

settled  around  Mr.  Anson  in  a  group,  Bertie  re- 
minded him  of  the  promised  story. 

"I  hardly  know  where  to  begin,"  said  Mr. 
Anson;  "but  I  judge  that  the  best  place  will  be 
the  -coming  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  to  Japan. 
Do  you  remember  hearing  that  name  before, 
Bertie?" 

"Yes,  sir;  he  was  one  of  the  followers  of  the 

Jesuit,  Loyola,  and  they  sometimes  call  him  the 

■  Apostle  to  the  Indies.     Was  he  ever  in  Japan  ?  " 

"  Yes,  over  two  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago 
he  came  to  Christianize  Japan." 

"But,"  interrupted  Bertie,  "I  thought  you 
said,  papa,  when  we  were  in  Tokio,  that  it  was 
only  about  thirty  years  since  foreigners  were 
permitted  to  come  to  Japan." 

"True  enough,  as  to  more  recent  times;  but 
several  hundred  years  ago  foreigners,  the  Dutch 
and  the  Portuguese,  in  particular,  were  allowed 
to  live  in  Japan,  and  to  trade  with  the  Japanese. 
My  story  is  connected  with  both  peoples,  and 
sliows  how  it  came  about  that  for  a  great  many 


108       THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

years,  until  1853,  in  fact,  foreigners  were  for- 
bidden to  come  to  Japan." 

"  Who  forbade  them,  papa?" 

"Why,  the  Japanese,  of  course;  for  they 
have  always  been  their  own  masters.  Two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  the  Dutch  and  the 
Portuguese  were  great  sailors  and  traders;  they 
discovered  many  countries,  and  opened  up  com- 
merce with  many  others  already  known.  These 
two  nations  were  rivals,  and  in  their  rivalry 
often  said  bitter  words  of  one  another.  The 
Portuguese  were  the  first  to  come  to  Japan, 
and  the  Dutch  came  not  long  after.  The 
Dutch  did  nothing  at  all  to  Christianize  the 
Japanese ;  but  the  Portuguese  were  very  earnest 
in  this  work.  In  the  year  1549,  Francis  Xavier 
came  to  Japan,  and  in  thirty  or  forty  years  it 
was  said  that  there  were  not  less  than  five 
hundred  thousand  converts  to  Christianity. 
Some  of  the  princes  were  converted,  and  were 
very  zealous  Roman  Catholics,  anxious  to  do 
almost    anything    to    make    their    people,   too, 


TO  THE  LAND  OF  TEAS  AND  QUEUES.  109 

become  Koraan  Catholics.  The  Dutch  noticed 
the  success  of  the  Portuguese,  and,  in  their 
jealousy,  tried  to  find  occasion  to  put  a  check 
to  it.  They  were  not  long  in  finding  a  reason ; 
for  an  embassy  to  Rome  and  some  rather  boast- 
ful declarations  on  the  part  of  some  of  the 
Japanese  princes,  gave  the  Dutch  a  chance  to 
suggest  that  the  Portuguese  priests  were  plot- 
ting to  make  Japan  a  part  of  the  possession 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  under  the  con- 
trol of  Portugal.  Possibly  there  was  good 
ground  for  the  suggestion.  At  any  rate,  it 
was  enough  to  inspire  the  Japanese  rulers  with 
the  determination  to  check  the  progress  of  the 
Portuguese,  and  to  utterly  extinguish  Chris- 
tianity in  Japan. 

"Do  you  notice,"  continued  Mr.  Anson,  "that 
the  Island  of  Pappenberg,  lying  in  the  mouth 
of  the  bay,  has  one  side  like  a  precipice?  Well, 
from  that  steep  rock  thousands  and  thousands  of 
Japanese  Roman  Catholics  were  hurled  to  death, 
just  because  they  were  Christians.     About  this 


110       THE   ANSONS   IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

time^  in  the  whole  country,  nearly  a  hundred 
thousand  Christians  were  killed,  the  remainder 
forsaking,  either  really  or  only  apparently,  their 
Christian  faith.  Then  an  edict  was  issued,  for- 
bidding the  people  to  own  Bibles  or  to  w^orship 
Jesus,  under  pain  of  death,  and  commanding 
them  to  trample  under  foot  the  cross  and  every 
other  Christian  symbol.  It  was  only  a  dozen 
years  ago  that  these  edict-boards  were  taken 
down,  though  for  a  few  years  before  the  edict 
w^as  a  dead  letter.  We  will  go  off  to  Pappen- 
berg,  if  we  have  time  to-morrow,  and  you  can 
see  close  at  hand  the  rock  of  death  where  so 
many  perished." 

"There  is  another  little  island  of  which  I 
have  read,  Deshima;  where  is  that?"  asked 
Mrs.  Anson. 

"  That  little  island,  lying  yonder,  not  far  from 
shore,  about  six  or  seven  hundred  yards  square, 
is  the  one  you  mean.  When  the  Japanese  ex- 
pelled Christianity  and  drove  out  the  Portu- 
guese, they  gave  the  Dutch  permission  to  live  on 


TO   THE   LAND   OF   TEAS   AND   QUEUES.    Ill 

that  little  island.  They  could  only  leave  the 
island  once  in  three  years  to  go  up  to  Tokio. 
Only  one  ship  a  year  was  allowed  to  come  to 
them  in  Japan  from  Holland.  There  was  a 
bridge  from  the  shore  to  the  island,  where 
Japanese  soldiers  always  stood  on  guard.  From 
that  day  until  the  American  sailor,  Commodore 
Perry,  came  to  Japan,  in  1853,  foreigners  have 
been  forbidden  to  land  in  Japan." 

The  next  day  was  too  stormy  to  permit  of 
any  excursion,  and  the  family  soon  sought  their 
quarters  on  the  steamer,  which  were  more  pleas- 
ant, on  a  rainy  day,  than  the  Japanese  hotel  on 
shore.  The  work  of  putting  in  coal  continued, 
the  almost  naked  coolies  not  minding  the  rain. 
So  the  vessel  was  ready  to  steam  out  of  port  in 
the  afternoon.  Grenerally,  it  takes  but  two  days 
to  get  across  from  Nagasaki  to  Shanghai.  The 
rain  continued  all  night,  pouring  incessantly. 
Somewhere  towards  morning,  the  passengers 
were  awakened  by  the  tossing  and  heaving  of 
the  vessel,  and — which  is  almost  always  noticed 


112       THE   ANSONS   IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

immediately  when  it  happens — by  the  silence 
of  the  great  engine. 

"What's  the  matter?"  called  out  Bessie,  in 
distress. 

"  I  don't  know,  my  dear ;  I  will  get  up  and 
see,"  answered  Mr.  Anson.  "  You  all  lie  still 
until  I  come  back." 

To  lie  still  was  no  easy  task,  for  the  vessel 
was  heaving  so  heavily  that  it  threatened  to  spill 
them  out  of  their  berths.  In  the  pantry  they 
could  hear  dishes  crashing.  Overhead,  sailors 
were  calling  to  one  another  in  hoarse  tones,  and 
the  howling  wind  seemed  almost  immediately  to 
carry  away  the  sound  of  their  voices.  In  fear 
and  trembling,  while  Mr.  Anson  was  away, 
Mrs.  Anson  and  Bessie  waited. 

"We  are  in  a  cyclone,"  were  Mr.  Anson's 
first  words,  as,  accompanied  by  a  watchman 
bringing  a  light,  he  returned. 

"Why  don't  they  go  on?"  asked  Mrs.  Anson. 

"Because  the  rolling  of  the  ship  keeps  one 
wheel  almost  always  out  of  the  water,  and  so 


TO  THE  LAND  OP  TEAS  AND   QUEUES.      113 

we  could  make  no  progress  if  the  engine  was  in 
motion." 

"  Is  there  any  danger  ?  " 

"  Yes,  we  may  get  caught  in  the  very  centre 
of  the  cyclone,  and  then  it  ^rould  be  all  up  with 
us.  But  the  captain  thinks  that  we  are  only  in 
the  outer  edge  of  it;  and  so  by  laying  to,  we 
shall  escape  more  serious  damage." 

^^  More  serious  damage?  Why,  what  damage 
wdone?" 

"Two  of  the  small  boats  were  washed  away, 
and,  while  I  was  looking  out  of  the  window,  I 
chance<l  to  glance  up  into  the  rigging.  As  I 
was  looking  at  the  sailors  furling  the  sails,  I 
saw  one — a  Jajmnese,  I  think,  he  must  have 
been — when  a  sudden  wind  struck  the  ship, 
loosen  his  grasp  and  fall  into  the  water.  In  a 
moment  the  waves  had  washed  him  far  from 
help." 

"Oh,  horrible!  and  we  may  have  to  go 
through  that!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Anson. 

"My  dear,  let  us  remember  that  we  are  in 

H 


114      THE   ANSONS   IK  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

our  Father's  care,  and  whether  we  live  or  die,  he 
will  not  forsake  us.  Both  we  and  our  children, 
thank  God,  are  trusting  in  the  Saviour,  and 
death  is  not  a  dread  enemy  to  us,  since  Jesus 
has  taken  away  his  f)ower.  But  we  do  not  ex- 
pect to  die  yet.  The  captain  said,  as  another 
passenger  told  me,  that  while  the  situation  was 
serious,  and  we  were  in  some  danger,  yet  we 
shall  probably  come  through  all  right." 

Just  then  some  heavy  tramping  was  heard  in 
the  dining-room  adjoining,  and  Mr.  Anson,  go- 
ing out,  met  the  first  officer,  who  said,  in  answer 
to  his  question : 

"Yes,  we  are  all  right  now.  Pretty  soon  we 
shall  begin  to  go  ahead  again.  It  was  a  severe 
blow,  and  very  trying  on  this  old  tub  of  a  vessel ; 
but  we  only  caught  the  tail  end  of  the  typhoon.'* 

Mr.  Anson  returned  to  the  state-room.  And, 
after  tucking  pillows  under  the  edges  of  the  mat- 
tresses of  Bessie  and  Mrs.  Anson,  to  prevent 
their  being  rolled  out,  climbed  to  his  own  berth, 
and,  with  a  trunk  strap,  made  himself  secure. 


TO  THE   LAND   OP  TEAS  AND   QUEUES.     115 

"  Well,  well,"  thought  he,  "  Bertie  must  sleep 
soundly ;  I  did  not  hear  a  word  from  him  as  I 
passed  his  state-room  door." 

Soon  the  thug-thug  of  the  engine  was  heard, 
and,  while  the  steamer  continued  to  pitch  up  and 
down  considerably,  it  was  easy  to  be  seen  that 
the  motion  was  getting  less  and  less  violent. 

In  the  morning,  Bertie  was  early  upon  deck. 
The  sun  shone  clearly,  the  air  seemed  wondrous 
pure,  the  waves  ran  low,  and  there  was  scarce  a 
sign  of  a  storm.  When  his  father  joined  him, 
he  said: 

"  How  is  it  that  the  storm  didn't  awaken  you, 
Bertie?" 

"Storm,  why,  was  there  a  storm?  I  'didn't 
know  it." 

"  Yes,  a  very  heavy  one." 

'  I  dreamed  that  I  was  being  tossed  up  in  a 
blanket,  just  as  we  used  to  be  at  Mrs.  Penrose's 
schcol,  when  we  cut  up  our  capers.  I  suppose 
the  storm  made  me  dream  that  way." 

"So  you  slept  soundly,  eh,  my  boy,"  said  the 


116      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

captain,  who  had  come  up  behind  Bertie;  "  well, 
you  would  make  a  good  sailor." 

This  day  and  the  next  passed  quietly  away, 
until  towards  evening,  when  the  vessel  steamed 
into  the  mouth  of  the  Yang-tse-kiang,  and  an 
hour  or  so  after,  into  the  Woosung  River. 
About  two  hours  later  they  were  anchored  be- 
fore Shanghai,  and  soon  the  Ansons  had  set  foot 
upon  the  soil  of  the  great  Chinese  Empire. 

Mr.  Anson  secured  rooms  in  an  American 
Hotel  in  Shanghai,  for  he  had  determined, 
while  showing  every  appreciation  of  the  hos- 
pitality of  the  missionaries,  not  to  thrust  him- 
self and  his  family  upon  them.  Early  the  next 
morning,  some  of  the  missionaries,  who  had  seen 
the  notice  of  the  arrival  of  the  Hiroshima  Maru 
and  its  list  of  passengers  in  the  daily  paper, 
called  upon  Mr.  Anson  and  gave  him  and  his 
family  a  cordial  welcome  to  China.  Mr.  Anson 
had  only  vaguely  outlined  his  visit  to  China, 
rightly  judging  that  the  missionai'ies  could  aid 
him  with  their  advice.     After  quite  a  consulta- 


TO  THE   LAND   OF   TEAS   AND   QUEUES.      117 

tion  with  several  well-traveled  missionaries,  he 
determined  fii-st  to  visit  Pekin,  the  capital,  and 
later  on  to  visit  Hong-Kong  and  Canton;  and 
if  the  opposition  to  foreigners  had  so  far  sub- 
sided as  to  permit  of  it,  to  go  up  the  Canton 
River  some  distance. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FROM  SHANGHAI  TO  PEKIN. 

TN  Shanghai  the  foreign  population  live  along 
the  river  front,  and  the  Chinese  back  from 
the  river.  The  foreign  section  has  separate  di- 
visions for  the  American,  English,  and  French 
residents.  The  foreigners'  residences  are  sepa- 
rated by  neat  gardens ;  but  the  Chinese  crowd  as 
closely  together  a.s  possible.  There  is  no  country 
in  the  world  where  the  people  are  so  thickly 
packed  together  as  in  China,  and  instead  of 
working  them  harm,  they  seem  to  thrive  upon 
it. 

Just  as  soon  as  possible,  the  Ansons  paid  a 
visit  to  the  Chinese  city  of  Shanghai.  Bessie, 
in  a  note  to  one  of  her  school  friends,  wrote  of 
their  first  visit : 

'^I  think  this  is  the  dirtiest  city  we  have  ever 
been  in.     The  streets  are  narrow  and  dark,  and 

118 


FROM   SHANGHAI   TO   PEKIN.  119 

not  like  those  in  Japan.  The  stores  are  only- 
big  boxes,  and  the  people  who  sell  to  you  are 
not  at  all  polite.  Whenever  we  stopped  at  a 
shop  the  Chinese  gathered  around  us;  and  they 
pushed  and  shoved  us,  and  laughed  at  us,  and 
called  us  *  Fan  Kwai.'  Some  one  told  us  after- 
ward that  this  means  Foreign  Devil.  They 
were  ever  so  much  ruder  than  the  Japanese. 
I  am  almost  sorry  that  we  came  here;  but  papa 
says  that  we  shall  enjoy  ourselves  better  the 
longer  we  stay,  and  the  more  accustomed  we 
become  to  the  ways  of  the  people.  One  of  the 
missionaries  says  that  many  of  the  Chinese  call 
foreigners  ^devils'  more  from  habit  than  because 
they  really  mean  it.  Often,  as  we  went  along 
the  streets,  I  had  to  hold  my  handkerchief  to 
my  nose,  because  the  smell  was  so  bad.  We 
took  some  tea  once  in  awhile,  and  that  did  not 
taste  badly.  Often  we  were  pushed  up  against 
the  walls  of  the  houses  as  some  '  coolies,'  as  they 
call  the  men  who  carry  burdens,  came  along 
carrying  some  big  bundles  hung  from  the  ends  of 


120      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

a  pole  that  rested  on  their  shoulders.  The  peo- 
ple seem  to  carry  almost  everything  in  this  way. 
I  saw  a  '  sedan-chair '  carried  on  the  shoulders 
of  four  men;  papa  is  going  to  let  me  ride  in  one 
some  day.     To-morrow  we  are  going  to  Pekin." 

Bertie  wrote  a  characteristic  letter  concerning 
what  he  saw,  to  one  of  his  chums: 

"This  is  a  funny  country,  I  tell  you.  Every- 
thing is  upside  down  and  wrong  end  foremost. 
The  signs  read  from  the  top  to  the  bottom,  and 
not  from  left  to  right,  as  at  home.  The  letters 
are  words  and  the  words  letters,  and  they  look 
just  like  the  marks  on  the  tea-chests,  and  on 
the  packages  of  fire-crackers.  The  men  wear 
slippers  with  soles  an  inch  thick,  and  they 
blacken  their  soles  with  cTialk.  The  men  wear 
petticoats  and  the  women  trousers.  When  peo- 
ple, meet,  they  shake  their  own  hands  and  not 
one  another's.  The  sign  of  respect  is  not  to 
take  off  your  hat,  but  to  pull  off  your  shoes. 
And  there  are  ever  so  many  queer  ways  of  work- 
ing.    The  *  boy ' — that  is  what  foreigners  always 


FROM  SHANGHAI   TO   PEKIX.  121 

call  men  servants — says  in  his  '  pigeon  English  ^ 
that  it  is  we  who  are  upside  down,  and  not  the 
Chinese.  It  is  funny,  Bob,  to  hear  a  Chinaman 
talk  *  pigeon  English;'  pigeon  is  their  way  of 
saying  basiness.  They  think  that  this  sort  of 
talk  is  a  sign  of  great  learning  on  their  part. 
I  will  copy  you  a  few  verses  from  a  ^Chinese 
pigeon  English '  version  of  the  poem  we  used  to 
declaim  at  school,  Excelsior: 

''top-side  galah!" 

That  nightee  teem  he  come  chop-chop, 
One  young  man  walkee — no  can  stop  ; 
Maskee  snow,  maskee  ice  ; 
He  cally  flag  wit  'h  chop  so  nice — 
"Top-side  Galah!" 

He  muchee  solly ;  one  piecee  eye 
Lookee  shalp — so  fashion — my ; 
He  talkee  lalge,  he  talkee  stlong, 
Too  muchee  culio  ;  allee  same  gong^ 
"Top-side  Galah!" 

Insidee  house  he  can  see  light. 
And  evly  loom  got  file  all  light ; 
He  lookee,  plenty  ice  move  high, 
Insidee  mouth  he  plenty  cly — 

"Top-side  Galah  I" 


122      THE   ANSOXS    IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

Olo  man  talkee.     "  No  can  walk,'* 
Biineby  lain  come,  velly  dalk  ; 
"Have  got  watel,  velly  wide  !  " 
Maskee,  my  must  go  top-side — 

"  Top-side  aalah!" 

And  so  it  goes  on.  Isn't  it  queer,  that  a 
Chinaman  can't  pronounce  r,  but  says  I  instead, 
as  velly  for  very ;  while  a  Japanese  cannot  pro- 
nounce Z,  but  says  r  instead,  as  ramp  for  lamp. 
Papa  brought  another  piece  of  ^  pigeon  English' 
about  the  Bamboo ;  it  begins : 

One  piecee  thing  that  my  have  got, 
Maskee  that  thing  my  no  can  do, 
You  talkee  you  no  sabee  what  ? 
Bamboo. 

And  so  it  goes  on.     It  all  sounds  funny.     To- 
morrow we  are  going  to  start  for  Pekin.     We. 
go  by  steamer  up  the  coast,  until  we  reach  Tien 
tsin,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho  River.     Good- 
bye, Bob.     Remember  me  to  all  the  boys." 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho,  the  steamer  passed 
the  Taku  forts,  celebrated  in  the  attack  of  the 
British  men-of-war,  in  1859.  All  the  way  up 
from  Taku  to  Tien-tsin  the  river  was  crowded 


FROM   SHANGHAI   TO   PEKIX.  123 

with  juuks  and  sampanSj  or  small  boats.  The 
Grand  Canal  begins  at  Tien-tsin.  Our  travelers 
were  impatient  to  be  in  Pekin,  about  two  days' 
journey — ^about  ninety  miles — from  Tien-tsin. 
So,  bright  and  early  the  day  after  landing,  Bertie 
and  his  father  took  ponies,  and  Bessie  and  Mrs. 
Anson  rode  in  a  kind  of  sedan-chair  carried  by 
mules.  On  another  pony  their  baggage  and  pro- 
visions were  strapped.  It  took  nearly  a  day 
after  their  arrival  in  Pekin  before  the  aches  and 
pains,  brought  on  by  the  two  days'  ride,  had  left 
them.  There  is  a  kind  of  carriage  used  in  Pekin 
that  is  drawn  by  a  horse.  In  summer,  the  Chi- 
nese put  up  a  cover  over  both  horse  and  cart. 

Pekin  is  one  of  the  largest  cities  in  the  world; 
for  it  has  a  population  of  about  two  millions. 
There  are  really  two  cities  in  one:  the  Tartar 
city  and  the  Chinese  city,  separated  from  each 
other  by  a  high  wall.  The  whole  city  is  sur- 
rounded by  higli  walls,  and  has  thirteen  gates. 
The  Chinese  city  has  three  separate  enclosures, 
one  within   the  other;   in  the  outer  circle  are 


124      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

ordinary  shops  and  dwellings;  within  the  second 
are  the  government  offices  and  some  private  resi- 


TEMPLE  OP  HEAVEN,  PEKIN. 


dences ;  while  within  the  heart  of  the  city  is  the 
imperial  palace  and  also  the  imperial  temples. 
Each  one  of  these  circles  lias  a  high  wall  about 


FROM   SHANGHAI   TO   PEKIN.  125 

it.  The  temples  within  the  inner  circle  are  the 
most  splendid  in  all  China;  they  are  devoted  to 
the  worship  of  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  earth; 
to  farming,  business,  and  the  like.  The  most 
splendid  of  all  is  the  Temple  of  Heaven,  as  for- 
eigners call  it.  After  some  difficulty  and  delay, 
Mr.  Anson  managed  to  get  a  special  permission, 
admitting  the  family  to  see  the  temples  and  a 
part  of  the  palace.  Mr.  Anson  asked  one  of  tlie 
missionaries  in  Pekin  to  write  out  for  him  a 
sketch  of  the  Temple  of  Heaven  and  the  wor- 
ship there: 

"The  imperial  worship  of  Shang-te — the  Su- 
preme Being — on  the  round  hillock  in  the  south- 
em  part  of  the  enclosure  is  attended  with  all  the 
solemnity  of  which  such  an  occasion  is  capable. 
The  altar  is  a  beautiful  marble  structure,  as- 
cended by  twenty-seven  steps ;  a  balustrade  sur- 
rounds each  terrace.  On  the  upper  of  tliese 
three  terraces  are  five  tables,  or  altars,  on  which 
the  offerings  to  Shang-te  are  laid.  On  another 
terrace  stands  the  conspicuous  Temple  of  Agri- 


126      THE  ANSOKS    IN  ASIATIC  TEAfPLES. 

culture.  On  the  day  before  the  annual  sacrifices 
at  the  Winter  Solstice,  the  Emperor  goes  to  the 
Hall  of  Fasting.  Here  he  spends  the  night  in 
watching  and  meditation,  after  first  inspecting 
the  offerings.  There  are  no  images  here,  nothing 
but  tablets.  The  southern  altar,  the  most  im- 
portant of  all  Chinese  religious  buildings,  is  on 
a  triple  circular  terrace,  two  hundred  and  ten 
feet  across  at  the  base,  and  ninety  feet  across  at 
the  top.  The  terraces  are  between  five  and  six 
feet  high.  The  temple  itself  is  a  three-storied 
structure,  just  ninety-nine  feet  high.  The  roofs 
are  covered  with  tiles  of  a  sky-blue  color.  At 
the  time  of  sacrificing,  the  tablets  to  Heaven  and 
to  the  Emperor's  ancestors  are  placed  on  an  altar 
within  the  temple.  The  Emperor  kneels  upon 
the  central  stone  of  a  platform  of  nine  marble 
flags,  so  he  seems  to  himself  and  his  court — 
while  in  the  very  centre  of  the  central  Temple 
of  the  central  (^Middle')  kingdom,  of  the  cen- 
tral planet — to  be  in  the  very  centre  of  the  uni- 
verse.    By  kneeling,  he  acknowledges  that  he  is 


FROM  SHANGHAI  TO  PEKIN.  127 

inferior  to  Heaven,  and  to  Heaven  alone.  Sac- 
rifices are  offered  to  the  dead  ancestors,  but  to 
Heaven  (*Shang-te')  is  offered  a  piece  of  blue 
jade  stone,  about  a  foot  long,  as  a  symbol  of 
sovereignty.  A  whole  burnt  offering  is  also  sac- 
rificed to  Heaven." 

Confucius  has  some  temples  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Temple  of  Heaven.  He  was  the 
religious-politicial  reformer  who  lived  about  five 
hundred  years  before  Christ,  just  a  century  later 
than  Daniel.  He  was  held  in  high  repute  for 
his  wonderful  wisdom,  and  his  books  are  yet 
studied,  as  containing  the  very  cream  of  wisdom. 
Nobody  can  have  a  place  in  ruling  the  country 
except  he  first  successfully  passes  an  examination 
in  the  writings  of  Confucius.  Bertie  heard  from 
some  of  the  missionaries  some  very  curious  sto- 
ries of  Chinese  school-boys.  Here  are  one  or 
two: 

About  twelve  hundred  years  ago  there  lived  a 
boy  named  Lei  Peh,  who,  while  Jie  was  yet 
young,  left  school  and  started  for  home.     On  the 


128      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

road  he  saw  an  old  woman  engaged  in  grinding 
an  iron  pestle.  Peh  asked  her  what  she  was 
doing.  She  replied,  "  I  want  to  make  a  needle.'' 
The  reply  touched  him,  and  he  turned  back  to 
school,  and  applied  himself  until  he  had  mas- 
tered the  classics  of  Confucius.  Another  lad, 
Sie  Ma  Wan  by  name,  was  accustomed  to  use  a 
round  block  of  wood  for  a  pillow.  When  he  be- 
•  came  too  sleepy,  his  pillow  would  roll,  and  then 
he  would  be  awakened  and  would  apply  himself 
to  his  studies  with  vigor.  Another  boy,  named 
Kwang  Hung,  w^as  so  poor  that  he  could  not  aiford 
a  light  by  which  to  study.  He  bored  a  hole 
through  the  partition,  and  so  let  in  a  few  rays  ot 
light  from  his  neighbor's  candle.  With  such 
stories  as  these  the  Chinese  encourage  the  boys  to 
study  the  sacred  books  of  Confucius. 

While  rambling  around,  apart  from  the  rest  of 
the  folks,  Bertie  came  upon  some  strange  objects 
fixed  in  posts,  or  lying  upon  small  tables.  Every 
once  in  awhile  a  priest  would  set  them  a  whirl- 
ing and  then  go  on  his  way;  and  another  passing 


FROM   SHANGHAI  TO  PEKIN. 


129 


priest  would  do  the  same.  One  of  these  was  in 
a  little  porch.  It  consisted  of  a  wooden  drum, 
covered  with  leather.     Upon  the  leather,  strange 

characters    were 
written.      Bertie 
saw  that  they 
were  not  Chinese 
characters.     The 
leather  was  stain- 
ed and  dirty,  as  if 
it  had  been  much 
handled.     Seeing 
him  curiously 
examining  it, 
one  of  the  priests, 
a  bright,  jolly 
looking  man. 


ntATDTO  HACUINK. 


came  and  said,  in  broken  English  : 

"You  Melican  boy,  you  sabee  dis?  You  no 
sabee  ?    Dis  allee  same  makee  pray." 

Here  he  put  his  hands  together  and  looked  up 
toward  the  sky. 


130      THE   ANSONS    IS   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"Oh,  I  see/'  said  Bertie;  "you.  mean  tliis  is  a 
praying  machioe." 

"  Yes,  yes,"  replied  the  priest. 

"What  this?'^  asked  Bertie,  pointing  to  the 
writing  on  the  leather. 

"That  number  one  good  prayer,"  and  turning 
it  as  he  spoke  and  pointing  to  the  words,  "  Om 
niani  padmi  hum.''  "  Dis  no  Chinee  language ; 
dis  writing  of — what  you  say  ? — Ind — Ind " 

"India,"  added  Bertie;  "you  mean  old  lan- 
guage of  India?" 

"Yes,  old  language,  long  time  ago  makee 
speakee,  makee  writee." 

"What  is  this?"  asked  Bertie,  taking  up  one 
of  the  praying-wheels  which  was  to  be  turned  in 
the  hand. 

"Dat  allee  same  good  prayer.  Sposee  man 
turn  one  time  good,  one  hundred  time  better, 
one  thousand  times  he  number  one  good  man,  go 
to  Joss  [he  meant  to  be  with  God]  sure." 

Several  weeks  were  spent  in  and  about  Pel^in. 
Every  day  seemed  to  bring   something   neAv  to 


FROM  SHANGHAI   TO   PEKIN.  131 

notice.  The  dusty,  narrow  streets  were  always 
crowded  with  people;  and  Pekin  seemed,  to  our 
travelers,  more  noted  for  its  foul  odoi-s  than  even 
Cologne  with  all  the  stenches  of  wliich  Coleridge 
speaks.  Pekin 
is  an  ideal  Chi- 
nese city.  For- 
eign influen  ce 
has  but  little  af- 
fected it;  Chi- 
nese manners 
and  customs  are 
most  easily  stud- 
ied here.  The 
immense  crowds 
of  people,  and 
of  all  classes, 
constantly  thronging  its  highways  and  byways, 
are  a  far  more  interesting  study  than  any  sort 
of  buildings   or  works  of  art. 

The   street  scenes   of  such   a   city  are   most 
worthy   of  notice.     Trades   are   rarely  ])ursucd 


CHINESE   PRAYING-WHEEL. 


132      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

in-doors;  even  if  they  are,  the  fronts  of  the 
shops  are  all  open,  so  that  the  interior  is  ex- 
posed to  view.  Generally  the  mechanic  plies 
his  business  in  the  streets,  and  goes  about  from 
place  to  place  seeking  his  customers.  Money- 
changei*s  and  musicians,  pipe-sellers,  and  old 
clothes'  dealers,  basket-makers,  lantern-sellers, 
and  almost  every  other  calling,  jostle  one 
another  in  the  crowded  and  narrow  and  noisy 
streets.  The  cities  are  so  many  bee-hives; 
the  buzzing  keeps  up  from  early  morn  until 
late  at  night,  day  after  day,  almost  the  year 
round.  The  Chinese  mechanic  knows  no  day 
of  rest.  An  occasional  feast-day,  or  a  national 
holiday,  or  an  hour  snatched  now  and  then 
to  hasten  to  the  temples,  is  all  of  the  rest  he 
takes.  It  is  a  tread-mill  existence,  with  pre- 
cious little  enjoyment  to  ease  its  wearisome 
plodding.  Religion,  such  as  they  have,  offers 
to  the  Chinese  no  relief  here,  and  little  promise 
of  any  hereafter.  There  is  no  hope  for  happi- 
ness, or  a   respite   from  exacting   toil,  for   the 


(134) 


PAGODA  OF  TUNG-CHO. 


FROM  SHANGHAI  TO  PEKIN.      135 

Chinese  workingman.  The  little  children  even 
seem  like  old  folks;  the  merry,  joyous  light  of 
youth  dies  down  very  early  in  life.  Wherever 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  gets  a  grasp  on  the 
heart,  at  once  there  comes  a  lifting  up,  notwith- 
standing that  becoming  a  Christian  is  sufficient 
to  subject  the  convert  to  persecution.  This  was 
most  apparent  to  our  friends  when  they  met  on 
the  Lord's  Day  in  one  or  another  of  the  mission 
churches  of  Peldn.  Of  course,  they  could  not 
understand  a  word  that  was  spoken,  but  it  was 
easy  to  see  the  difference  between  the  spirit  of 
the  worship  here  and  that  in  the  temples. 

On  one  Monday  morning,  witli  some  mis- 
sionary friends,  the  Ansons  paid  a  visit  to 
tlie  Pagoda  of  Tung-cho,  an  hour  or  two  from 
Pekin.  A  pagoda  is,  properly,  a  relic-house — a 
high  structure,  generally  solid,  built  over  the 
relics  of  some  dead  Buddhist  saints.  In  China, 
tlie  many-storied  towers  erected  in  temple 
grounds  are  generally  called  pagodas.  The 
one  at   Tung-cho   has   thirteen   stories,   and  is 


136      THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet  around  the  base.  It  can 
be  seen  miles  away  from  the  city.  Lighted 
lanterns  are  often  hung  at  the  corners  of  each 
story's  roof,  and  little  bells  swing  from  the 
angles. 

It  was  of  the  Porcelain  Pagoda  of  Nankin — 
whose  sides  and  roofs  were  covered  with  yellow, 
green,  red,  and  white  glazed  porcelain  tiles — that 
Longfellow  wrote  in  his  "  Keramos.''  Standing 
beneath  the  pagoda  at  Tung-cho,  one  of  the 
missionaries  recited  the  lines : 

And  yonder  by  Nankin,  behold  I 

The  Tower  of  Porcelain,  strange  and  old, 

Uplifting  to  the  astonished  skies 

Its  nine-fold  painted  balconies, 
With  balustrades  of  twining  leaves, 
And  roofs  of  tile,  beneath  whose  eaves 

Hang  porcelain  bells  that  all  the  time 
Ring  with  a  soft,  melodious  chime  ; 
While  the  whole  fabric  is  ablaze 

With  varied  tints,  all  fused  in  one 
Great  mass  of  color,  like  a  maze 

Of  flowers  illumined  by  the  sun. 

Unfortunately,  this  beautiful  pagoda  was  de- 
stroyed by  the  Tai  Ping  rebels  in  1860. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TEE  STORY  OF  ''CHINESE  GORDON." 

TT7HILE  the  Ansons  were  yet  in  PekiD,  the 
mail  brought  up  from  Shanghai  papers 
containing  the  latest  news  from  Egypt,  with 
especial  reference  to  the  dangerous  position  of 
General  Gordon  in  Khartoum.  Every  now  and 
then  the  party  had  been  coming  upon  ruined 
buildings  and  the  like,  which  had  been  destroyed 
by  the  Tai  Ping  rebels.  This  led  Bertie  fre- 
quently to  ask  his  papa  about  the  Tai  Pings. 
But  Mr.  Anson  knew  scarcely  more  than  his 
son.  Fortunately,  they  were  invited  one  even- 
ing to  take  dinner  with  a  veteran  missionary 
and  his  family.  The  occasion  was  too  good  a 
one  to  be  lost;  and  at  the  first  opportunity  Mr. 
Anson  began  to  lead  his  host  to  speak  of  his 
past  life.  A  reference  to  Gordon  and  the  Tai 
Pings  brought  out  from  the  old  missionary  an 

137 


138      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

exceedingly  interesting  account  of  Gordon's  life 
in  China,  especially  as  to  the  missionaiy's  own 
personal  acquaintance  and  interviews  with  Gor- 
don. 

"It  w^as  in  September  of  1860,"  said  Dr. 
Hoddard,  "that  I  first  saw  Gordon.  I  hap- 
pened to  be  in  Tien-tsin  then.  It  was  at  the 
time  when  the  French  and  English  were  ad- 
vancing upon  Pekin.  Gordon  was  then  a 
captain  under  Sir  Hope  Grant.  Pekin  was 
taken  on  October  12.  A  picture  of  the  civiliza- 
tion of  China  is  given  in  Gordon's  letter,  written 
after  the  destruction  of  Pekin's  famous  palaces: 

"  ^  We  (i.  e.j  our  armies)  went  out,  and  after 
pillaging  it,  burned  the  whole  place,  destroying, 
in  a  vandal  like  manner,  most  valuable  property, 
which  could  not  be  replaced  for  four  millions 
(of  pounds,  equal  to  twenty  millions  of  dollars). 
You  can  scarcely  imagine  the  beauty  and  mag- 
nificence of  the  places  we  burned.  The  palaces 
were  so  large,  and  we  w^ere  so  pressed  for  time, 
that  we    could    not    plunder    them    carefully. 


THE  STORY   OF   "CHINESE  GORDON."      139 

Quantities  of  gold  ornaments  were  burned, 
considered  as  brass.  Everybody  was  wild  for 
plunder.  You  would  scarcely  conceive  the  mag- 
nificence of  this  residence  (the  Summer  Palace), 
or  the  tremendous 'devastation  the  French  have 
committed.  The  throne  and  room  were  lined 
with  ebony,  carved  in  a  marvelous  way.  Tliere 
were  huge  mirrors  of  all  shapes  and  kinds, 
clocks,  watches,  musical  boxes,  magnificent 
china  of  every  description,  heaps  and  heaps 
of  silks  of  all  colors,  embroidery,  and  as  much 
splendor  and  civilization  as  you  would  see  at 
Windsor;  carved  ivory  screens,  coral  screens, 
large  amounts  of  treasure,  etc.  The  French 
have  smashed  everything  in   a  wanton  way.'" 

"What  was  the  cause  of  this  war?"  asked 
Mr.  Anson. 

"It  is  a  long  story,"  said  Dr.  Hoddai'd; 
"but  I  will  tell  it  to  you  in  brief.  In  October, 
1856,  a  Chinese  vessel,  the  'Arrow,'  carrjnng 
the  British  flag,  was  boarded  by  Chinese  officers. 
This  was  the  cause  of  British  hostilities  against 


140      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

the  Chinese.  As  for  the  French,  a  Roman 
Catholic  missionary,  M.  Chapdelaine,  had  been 
murdered  by  Chinese  in  the  province  of  Kwang- 
si.     The  United  States  had  nothinoj  to  do  with 


WOKSHIP  OF  ANCESTOES. 


these  troubles,  and  so  refused  to  enter  into  an 
alliance  against  China.  But  to  return  to  Gordon. 
I  am  glad  you  asked  about  him,  for  lie  is  a  rare 
Christian  soldier  and  an  earnest  friend  of  mis- 
sions. He  was  brought  into  such  relations  to 
the  Chinese  Government   that,  by  his  personal 


THE  STOKY   OF   "CHINESE  GORDON."      141 

influence,  he  greatly  aided  in  advancing  the 
welfare  of  Chinese  Christians;  but,  above  all,  he 
played  so  important  a  part  in  the  putting  down 
of  the  Tai  Ping  rebellion,  that  he  became  famous 
as  a  Christian  soldier." 

"What  was  the  Tai  Ping  rebellion?"  asked 
Bertie.  "We  heard  of  that  when  we  were 
talking  of  pagodas,  beneath  the  thirteedi -storied 
pagoda  of  Tung-cho,  and  often  friends  have 
shown  us  'traces  of  the  work  of  the  Tai  Pings,' 
as  they  have  said." 

"  Why  do  they  call  General  Gordon  *  Chinese 
Gordon?'"  interrupted  Bessie. 

"  I  will  answer  both  questions  at  once.  They 
call  Gordon,  'Chinese  Gordon,'  because  of  his 
part  in  putting  down  the  Tai  Ping  rebellion,  as 
the  leader  of  the  '  Ever-victorious  Army,'  a  body 
of  Chinese  soldiers.  The  Tai  Ping  rebellion 
really  had  a  very  singular  history.  Once  a 
peasant  named  Hung  Siu-tseuen  visited  Canton, 
and  heard  a  foreign  Protestant  missionary  preach- 
ing in  the  streets.     The  tract  distributor  who 


142      THE  AKSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

was  with  the  missionary  gave  the  peasant  a  book 
of  sermons  by  a  Chinese  convert,  entitled  ^Good 
AVords  for  Exhorting  the  Age/  When  he 
reached  home.  Hung  looked  through  the  volume 
and  then  laid  it  in  his  bookcase,  to  be  forgotten 
for  some  few  years.  This  was  about  1833. 
Hung  tried  to  get  into  a  government  office,  but 
failed.  After  a  few  years  the  Opium  War  broke 
out,  and  Hung  saw  the  wonderful  fire-ships  of 
the  westerners.  He  became  curious  to  learn 
about  the  religious  views  of  these  powerful  west- 
ern nations,  and  once  more  took  down  the  little 
book.  He  had  had  some  strange  visions  about 
six  years  before,  and  he  thought  he  found  the 
key  to  them  in  the  little  book ;  he  had  dreamed 
that  a  voice  from  heaven  had  summoned  him  to 
destroy  all  idols  and  to  uproot  idolatry.  He  and 
one  of  his  first  converts,  named  Fung  Yun-san, 
became  zealous  preachers.  An  American  Baptist 
missionary,  Mr.  I.  J.  Roberts,  treated  the  con- 
verts with  suspicion.  But  Hung  went  back  and 
taught  his  converts  how  to  baptize.     The  con- 


143 


Ola  a 


verts  multiplied  rap- 
idly, A  great  num- 
ber of  idols  were  de- 
stroyed. Many  of 
the  converts  had  been 
made  among  some 
warlike  people  of  the 
province  of  Kwang- 
tuug,  who  had  for- 
merly been  pirates. 
Hung  declared  him- 
self to  be  the '  Heav- 
enly Prince/  and  his 
mission  to  be  the 
establishment  of 
'Universal  Peace/ — 
wliich  is  the  meaning 
of  Tai 
Ping. 
The 
'Hea- 
ve n  1  y 


144      THE  ANS0N8    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

Army'  rapidly  increased  in  strength  (just  as 
the  'Salvation  Army'  has  done  in  England 
and  America),  and  when  they  finally  gathered 
together  to  enter  Nankin,  where  was  the  famous 
Porcelain  Pagoda,  Hung  had  an  army  of  over 
ninety  thousand  followers.  The  Imperial  Chi- 
nese troops  sent  to  put  down  the  rebellion 
were .  beaten  in  every  battle.  Before  going 
into  the  fight,  the  followers  of  the  Chinese 
Prophet-King  knelt  in  the  open  field  in  prayer. 
They  conquered  city  after  city,  and  it  seemed  as  if 
they  must  sweep  the  empire.  They  declared  their 
belief  in  our  Christian  Bible,  of  which  they  had 
an  imperfect  translation  in  their  own  language. 
They  observed  the  Lord's  Day,  and  held  religious 
services.  They  welcomed  Europeans  as  '  brethren 
from  across  the  sea,'  and  fellow-worshipers  of 
'  Yesu.'  We  foreign  missionaries  tried  to  reach 
the  Tai  Ping  leaders,  and  to  teach  them  the 
truths  of  the  Christian  religion,  but  our  efforts 
all  failed." 

*'  There  was  one  thing  I  have  heard  of,"  said 


Mr.  Anson,  "of  which  you  have  not  spoken. 
The  Tai  Pings  bitterly  opposed  the  use  of  opium, 
did  they  not?" 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  replied  Dr.  Hoddard.  "They 
would  not  accept  of  the  aid  of  a  body  of  rebels, 
when  attacking  Nankin,  because  they  would 
neither  give  up  the  use  of  opium,  nor  renounce 
idolatry.  Possibly  this  may  have  had  much  to 
do  with  the  fact  that  England  loaned  the  aid  of 
her  soldiery  to  repress  the  rebellion,  that  she 
feared  to  lose  China  as  a  market  for  the  opium 
that  she  raises  in  India.  It  was  Gordon's  busi- 
ness to  obey  orders,  I  suppose,  and  this  may  have 
been  the  reason  for  his  taking  the  part  he  did  in 
putting  down  the  Tai  Pings ;  but  I  think  it  more 
likely  that  the  earnest  Christian  soldier  saw  that, 
while  a  few  of  the  leaders  were  sincere  in  their 
intentions  and  in  their  devotion  to  Christ,  the 
great  mass  were  unchanged  in  heart,  and  were 
only  after  plunder  and  power.  Probably  it  was 
to  check  their  mad  destruction  of  life  and  proj>- 
erty,  and  to  rescue  the  fair  name  of  Christianity 

K 


146      THE   ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

from  the  staius  being  put  upon  it,  that  Gordon 
consented  to  take  command  of  the  Chinese  sol- 
diery. In  a  letter  that  he  wrote  to  his  family 
March  24,  1863,  he  says:  ^I  have  taken  the 
step  on  consideration.  I  think  that  any  one 
who  contributes  to  putting  down  this  rebellion 
fulfills  a  humane  task,  and  I  also  think  tends  a 
great  deal  to  open  China  to  civilization.'  .... 
*  I  can  say  that  if  I  had  not  accepted  the  com- 
mand, I  believe  the  force  would  have  been 
broken  up  and  the  rebellion  gone  on  in  its 
misery  for  years.  I  trust  this  will  not  be 
the  case.  I  think  I  am  doing  a  good  ser- 
vice.' He  was  now  about  thirty  years  of  age. 
Armed  only  with  a  cane,  Gordon  led  his  soldiers 
into  battle.  He  showed  rare  courage  both  in 
repressing  mutiny  among  his  own  soldiers  and 
in  attacking  the  Tai  Pings." 

"Do  you  remember,  papa,"  said  Bertie, 
"  when  we  were  in  Philadelphia,  that  we  went 
to  the  room  of  the  Baptist  Historical  Society, 
and  that  w^e  saw  a  chest  marked  with  the  name 


THE  STORY  OF   "CHINESE  GORDON."      147 

of  the  missionary  to  whom  Hung  went  for 
counsel  ?  Mr.  Lincoln  told  us  that  he  thought 
that  much  information  about  the  beginning  of 
the  Tai  Ping  rebellion  might  be  found  in  the 
papers  in  that  trunk." 

"I  wish  that  I  could  see  those  papers,"  said 
Dr.  Hoddard. 

"  If  my  memory  serves  me,  Mr.  Lincoln 
said  that  the  chest  was  left  with  the  Historical 
Society  on  condition  that  it  should  not  be  opened 
for  a  certain  number  of  years." 

"  To  return  to  Gordon.  When  the  war  was 
over,  tlie  Chinese  Governor  Li  offered  Gordon  a 
large  sum  of  money  above  his  regular  pay.  He 
declined  it.  He  said  in  truth,  *I  leave  China  as 
poor  as  when  I  entered  it.'  The  British  Min- 
ister wrote:  *  Lieutenant  Colonel  Gordon  well 
deserves  Her  Majesty's  favor;  for,  independently 
of  the  skill  and  courage  he  has  shown,  his  dis- 
interestedness has  elevated  our  national  chai-acter 
in  the  eyes  of  tlie  Chinese.'  I  have  heard  from 
many  of  the   Chinese  who  served  under  Gor- 


148      THE  ANS0N8    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

don  in  one  way  or  another,  tliat  he  was  very 
pious." 

"I  remember  seeing  a  picture  of  General 
Gordon  standing  with  his  finger  on  a  map, 
and  with  some  ragged  boys  about  him,"  said 
Bertie.     "  When  was  it  that  he  taught  them  ?  " 

"Right  after  he  left  China,"  said  Mr.  Anson; 
"he  spent  all  of  his  spare  time  and  money  in 
trying  to  help  the  ragged  boys  of  London." 

"Where  did  he  go  next?  and  where  is  he 
now  ?  "  asked  Bertie,  thoroughly  interested. 

"I  supposed,"  Dr.  Hoddard  said,  "that  you 
had  heard  of  his  going  to  Upper  Egypt;  but 
then,  of  course,  we  who  know  a  man,  always 
follow  his  movements  with  interest ;  and,  more- 
over, you  were  not  born  when  Gordon  was  in 
China." 

"Just  now,"  said  Mr.  Anson,  "he  is  the 
central  figure  in  the  events  occurring  in  Egypt, 
and  all  England  is  talking  of  him." 

"Yes,  he  went  to  Egypt,"  continued  Dr. 
Hoddard;  "and,  later,  to  India  and  to  South 


TIIK  H'n)UY    OF   ''CIIINKMK  UOKDON."      140 

Afrlou,  uiul  thuii,  in  1880  hci  wont  to  China 
again.  KnHHiii  wiim  tiir(Mi(4M)in^  ('liinii  with  wiir, 
and  tho  ChinuMO  weru  (liHpoHal  to  il^ht  tht^  Uiih- 
MiunN.  Gordon  wum  Hont  for  tui  udviNor.  1  wufi 
Htiindinp;  Uy  whmi  Governor  Li  huw  (ilordon, 
find  run  and  Irll  on  hJM  nottk  and  kiMHiul  him. 
(iordun  ruiinhrlr<I  jMjuc,  and  (liu  Chiniwo  Gov- 
crnnitMit    "  -  i^  <l   his  a<lvic('." 

"I  HU|)|H)M',  )'()ii  l(now,  Dr.  ir<Mldiird,  thiit 
aAxtr  hiH  return  to  Kn^hiud,  Gordon  wmh  phm- 
ninj(  to  vinit  the  Con^o  n'j^ioii,  in  Went  Alridu. 
You  will  r(!Mi(*nd>or  that  the  Inlornalionid  Ahho- 
nation,  uncUsr  Htiudcy,  han  hcon  at  worU  iUviv^ 
until,  in  1884,  whon  Htanloy  returned  to  Kuro[M^ 
Thero  aro  Moniu  Aniurietin  liaplint  nuHnion  hIu- 
tiona  on  the  Con(i|;o,  and  it  eoidd  have  heun 
wJHhod  that  Gordon  hiul  ^one  to  that  region. 
Hut  ho  wax  ordurod  to  Soulh  Airiea.  lintor, 
ho  viMit«I  PaleHtino." 

"Yen,  and  yet  he  wuh  too  active  a  man  lo 
go  alnrnt  'glol)o-t rotting/  ''  wMed  Dr.  IIo<ldanl. 
'^Thoro  WON  tt    man,  a  jHaMant,   who,   in   (hv 


150      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

Soudan,  began  a  work  wonderfully  like  the 
work  of  the  Tai  Ping  leader  in  China.  Egypt 
was  in  a  precarious  state,  and  the  English  had 
too  much  money  invested  in  Egypt  to  refuse  all 
needed  aid  of  military  forces.  So  it  came  about 
that  Gordon  was  sent  out  again.  In  February 
of  1884,  Gordon  was  once  more  in  Egypt. 
What  he  has  done  since  has  hardly  become  a 
matter  of  history  yet,  for  I  know  only  what 
I  have  read  in  the  uncertain  newspaper  reports. 
But  Gordon  seems  to  be  succeeding  in  repressing 
the  False  Prophet,  El  Mahdi,  of  the  Soudan. 
He  never  goes  into  battle  without  a  prayer  for 
the  poor  blacks  against  whom  he  fights.  The 
slaves  he  captures  he  turns  into  loyal  soldiers, 
giving  them  their  freedom.  His  ideal  is  to  see 
every  slave  in  the  Soudan  set  free.  He  has 
given  to  the  missionaries  of  the  Church  of 
England  every  assistance  in  his  power,  in  go- 
ing to  and  from  their  mission-fields  in  Central 
Africa;  and  has  contributed  considerable  sums 
of  money  to  their  mission  work.     As  a  Chris- 


161 

tian  and  a  missionary,  I  thank  God  for  rais- 
ing up  Charles  George  Gordon.  His  wonder- 
ful humility  and  marked  disinterestedness,  and 
remarkable  fidelity  and  dauntless  courage,  have 
added  lustre  to  his  character  as  a  Cliristian. 
We,  in  China,  and  they,  of  Egypt,  can  point 
witli  pride  to  Gordon  as  a  specimen  of  the 
work  of  Christ's  grace  in  a  human  soul." 

The  evening  was  well  spent  when  the  Anson 
family,  led  by  Dr.  Hoddard's  servant,  found 
their  way  back  to  their  hotel.  After  several 
days  of  sight-seeing,  they  made  preparations 
for  their  departure. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HOUSEKEEPING  IN  CANTON. 

/^UE.  friends  returned  by  junk  to  Tien-tsin, 
down  the  river,  and  thence  to  Shanghai  by 
ocean  steamer.  At  Shanghai  they  took  a  French 
steamer  for  Hong-Kong.  Soon  they  were  among 
the  mountainous  islands  off  the  coast;  and  then, 
by  a  picturesque,  narrow  channel,  entered  the 
outer  harbor,  with  the  red,  rocky  hills  of  the 
mainland,  and  the  high  hills  of  Hong-Kong  on 
the  other.  Then,  with  a  sudden  turn,  the  inner 
harbor  was  entered,  and  Hong-Kong  lay  before 
them. 

^^  The  city  looked  magnificent,  suggesting  Gib- 
raltar; but  far,  far  finer,  its  peak,  eighteen 
hundred  feet  in  height — a  giant  among  the 
lesser  peaks — rising  abruptly  from  the  sea  above 
the  great  granite  city  which  clusters  upon  its 
lower  declivities,  looking  out  from  dense  greenery 

153 


HOUSEKEEPING    IN   CANTON.  153 

and  tropical  gardens,  and  tlie  deep  shade  of 
palms  and  bananas,  the  lines  of  many  of  its 
streets  traced  in  foliage,  all  contrasting  with  the 
scorched,  red  soil  and  barren   crags." 

Great  warehouses,  cathedrals,  colleges,  and 
Victories  came  rapidly  into  view.  Over  all 
waved  the  English  flag;  for  the  island  belongs 
to  Great  Britain.  Since  Hong-Kong  was  so 
plainly  a  foreign  city,  and  in  scarcely  any  sense 
a  Chinese  city,  the  Ansons  determined  to  move 
on  to  Canton.  So,  after  a  single  night  in  the 
hotel  at  Hong-Kong,  they  took  their  places  in 
a  great  deck-above-deck  American  river-steam- 
boat, with  three  or  four  other  European  pas- 
sengers, and  some  twelve  hundred  Chinese 
passengers.  Canton  lies  about  ninety  miles  up 
the  Canton  River  from  Hong-Kong,  and  the 
trip  is  through  a  level  country,  mainly  covered 
with  rice  fields.  To  get  to  the  wharf  at  Canton, 
it  took  nearly  an  hour's  careful  threading  for  the 
steamer  to  make  its  way  among  the  boats  of  all 
sorts,  house-boats,  junks,   and   sampam,  which 


154      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

filled  the  river.  The  boats  of  Canton  are  so 
numerous,  that  it  seemed  to  Bertie  as  if  fully 
half  the  people  must  live  upon  the  water.  The 
city  lies  on  a  level  plain,  and  seems  to  be  full 
of  houses,  all  packed  as  closely  together  as  sar- 
dines in  a  box.  When  the  steamer  reached  the 
wharf,  and  while  the  Ansons  were  watching  the 
crowds  of  Chinese  as  they  went  ashore,  Mr. 
Anson  felt  some  one  touch  him  on  the  shoulder, 
and  a  cheery  voice  called  out: 

"Why,  Mr.  Anson,  how  do  you  do?  How 
do  you  come  to  be  on  this  side  of  the  world?'' 

"My  dear  Dr.  Balkom,  how  do  you  do?  I 
did  not  expect  to  see  you  so  soon.  I  thought 
that  just  as  soon  as  we  were  settled  I  should 
hunt  you  up." 

"But  I  got  the  start  of  you,  you  see.  I  saw 
your  arrival  mentioned  in  the  Hong-Kong 
paper  that  came  up  during  the  night,  and, 
while  I  was  not  positive,  I  felt  almost  sure  that 
it  was  Anson,  my  old  schoolmate,  who  had  just 
come  in  on  the  French   steamer." 


HOUSEKEEPING    IN  CANTON.  155 

Mr.  Anson  tlien  presented  Dr.  Balkom  to  his 
family,  and  they  prepared  to  go  ashore. 

"Just  wait  a  moment,  and  I  will  get  chairs 
for  you.  Mrs.  Balkom  will  be  expecting  you 
and  your  family,  and  I  will  take  you  home 
right  away." 

"Why,  doctor,"  interrupted  Mr.  Anson,  "we 
are  not  expecting  to  quarter  ourselves  upon  you." 

"  We  will  settle  that  by-and-by ;  but  we  will 
get  home  first,  and  do  our  talking  there." 

In  a  few  moments  Dr.  Balkom  returned  with 
five  bamboo  chairs  suspended  from  poles,  and  a 
couple  of  men  to  carry  each  chair.  He  spoke 
a  few  words  in  Chinese,  and  soon  the  procession 
wended  its  way  through  the  narrow  streets 
down  by  the  river  until  the  missionary  quarter 
was  reached.  The  face  of  Mrs.  Balkom,  smil- 
ing so  pleasant  a  welcome  as  she  met  the  friends 
of  her  husband  at  the  door,  seemed  to  them  the 
most  beautiful  they  had  seen  since  leaving  home 
— the  gray  hair  lying  smoothly  on  either  side  of 
the  forehead,  the  calm,  serene  countenance,  the 


156      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

patient,  yet  loving  eyes — and  her  whole  bearing 
seemed  so  mother-like  to  them,  that  it  was  a  bit 
of  home  just  to  meet  her.  After  a  little  pleas- 
ant conversation,  Mr.  Anson  said  : 

"By  the  way.  Dr.  Balkom,  what  about  my 
baggage?     I  have  forgotten  all  about  that.'* 

"  It  will  be  here  in  a  few  moments.  I  left  a 
trusty  man  to  bring  it  home  as  soon  as  possible." 

"But  we  must  not  quarter  ourselves  upon 
you.  Indeed  we  cannot  so  far  trespass  upon 
your  kindness." 

"I  assure  you,  to  have  my  old  classmate — 
yet  he  is  not  as  old  as  I — is  a  privilege  to  both 
my  wife  and  myself,  and  we  cannot  let  }  oa  go. 
But  let  us  be  perfectly  frank  with  each  other. 
I  suppose  that  you  would  like  to  stay  in  Canton 
several  weeks  at  least,  and  yet  you  are  afraid  the 
care  of  your  entertainment  might  be  a  burden  to 
my  wife." 

"Yes,  yes,  that  is  just  it,"  said  Mr.  Anson; 
"and  we  should  feel  badly  if  we  added  to  the 
burdens   that   rest   upon    your  good   lady.      I 


HOUSEKEEPING    IN  CANTON.  157 

should  greatly  enjoy  staying  with  you,  but  I 
know  how  busy  all  you  missionaries  are;  and  I 
know,  too,  the  depth  of  the  missionaries'  purses, 
and  my  family  is  too  large  to  thrust  upon  your 
hospitality." 

"Well,  if  you  think  best — and  I  can  appre- 
ciate your  feelings — we  shall  have  to-  give  up  our 
pleasant  plan.  Yet,  not  entirely,  for  I  have  a 
second  string  to  my  bow.  One  of  our  mis- 
sionary ladies.  Miss  Sohn,  who  has  just  gone 
to  America  on  a  vacation,  has  a  three-roomed 
bungalow  right  next  to  and  adjoining  our  house. 
She  left  the  key  with  us,  and  bade  us  make  a 
free  use  of  the  house  in  her  absence,  if  any 
guests  should  come.  We  can  lend  you  bedding 
and  crockery,  and  you  will  find  everything  else 
that  is  needed,  in  the  house.  I  can  hire  for  you 
a  good  cook,  who  understands  some  English; 
and  Mrs.  Anson  can  try  her  hand  at  house- 
keeping in  China.'* 

''Oh,  that  will  be  splendid,"  cried  both 
Bertie  and  Bessie. 


158      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

^^Will  this  inconvenience  you  in  the  least  ?^' 
asked  Mr.  Anson. 

"No,  not  at  all;  and  we  shall  be  glad  to  have 
such  good  neighbors." 

"  It  is  kind  in  you  to  make  the  offer,  and 
with  Mrs.  Anson's  consent,  we  will  accept  it." 

"Mrs.  Anson  can  leave  her  housekeeping," 
added  Mrs.  Balkom,  "entirely  in  Ah  Ching's 
hands.  She  need  only  tell  him  how  much 
money  to  spend — and  I  can  help  her  in  fixing 
upon  the  sum  needed — and  he  will  attend  to 
the  rest.  My  husband  and  I,  and  one  of  our 
native  preachers,  will  be  able  between  us  to 
guide  you  in  your  sight-seeing." 

The  remainder  of  the  morning  was  spent 
in  unpacking  trunks  and  in  getting  settled. 
Among  the  contents  of  the  trunks  were  several 
very  valuable  volumes  and  some  articles  useful 
to  a  lady,  which  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Anson  had  pur- 
chased in  San  Francisco  for  Dr.  Balkom  and  his 
wife.  These,  Ah  Ching  took  in  next  door,  and 
said  to  Mrs.  Anson : 


HOUSEKEEPING    IN   CANTON. 


159 


"Lady,  much  obliged.     She  hardly  speakee, 
but  muchee  cry." 

After  a  hasty  tiffin,  or  luncheon,  Dr.  Balkom 


TEldPLB  OF  FIVE  UUNDEED  GODS. 


came  to  take  tJie  Ansons  upon  their  first  round 
of  sight-seeing.  First  of  all,  they  went  to  see 
the  Temple  of  the  Five  Hundred  Gods.    These 


160       THE   ANSONS   IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

are  the  Arhans,  or  pupils  of  Gautama  Buddha. 
The  temple  is  like  all  other  Chinese  temples, 
but  it  differs  from  all  in  the  images  of  the 
deified  disciples  of  Buddha.  These  are  life- 
size,  sitting  on  their  heels,  in  Oriental  fashion, 
each  exhibiting  the  wonderful  act  for  which  he 
has  been  made  a  god.  The  eyes  of  one  are 
always  turned  towards  heaven,  and  are  supposed 
never  to  have  winked.  Another  held  his  hand 
above  his  head  until  it  became  immovable. 
Another  has  held  his  hand  so  steadily  and 
softly  that  a  bird  has  come  and  built  its  nest 
in  it.  Another  became  so  holy  that  Buddha 
opened  his  disciple's  breast  and  entered  his 
heart.  The  idols  are  made  of  clay,  and  gilded 
over.  Before  each  idol  is  a  vessel  of  ashes 
for  joss-sticks,  and  vases  for  flowers.  The 
main  altar,  where  prayers  are  oifered  to  the 
whole  five  hundred  gods,  stands  in  the  centre 
of  the  temple. 

Dr.  Balkom  proved  a  very  serviceable  guide ; 
for  he  had  spent  nearly  twenty-five  years  in  China, 


HOUSEKEEPING    IN  CANTON. 


161 


and  was  thoroughly  well  acquainted  with  the 
people,  and  their  language  and  customs.  Bertie, 
who  was  at  times  a  regular  box  of  questions, 


SALE  OF  PRAYEKS. 


found  that  Dr.  Balkom  could  answer  almost 
every  question  he  asked.  In  reply  to  some  of 
his  questions.  Dr.  Balkom  said : 


162      THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES, 

"Canton — or,  as  the  Chinese  call  it,  Kwang- 
tung — has  a  population  of  about  a  million  souls. 
Sixty  thousand  of  these  spend  their  lives,  by  day 
and  night,  upon  the  water.  The  city  has  a  wall 
around  it,  about  seven  miles  long ;  there  are  six- 
teen gates  in  the  wall.  Within  the  city  are 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  temples.  Most 
of  the  buildings  are  low.'' 

"  What  are  the  high  buildings  that  we  saw  as 
we  came  up  the  river?"  asked  Bertie. 

"Do  you  mean  tlie  pagodas?'' 

"No;  I  have  learned  about  those;  but  those 
great  square  buildings." 

"Oh,"  said  Dr.  Balkom,  "they  are  pawn- 
brokers' storehouses.  The  Cantonese  pawn  al- 
most everything  that  they  do  not  have  in  actual 
use,  both  to  get  money,  and  also  to  save  the 
trouble  of  storage  and  the  risk  of  thieves." 

Just  here  they  passed  a  temple,  with  a  hall  in 
front  that  was  full  of  people. 

"  What  are  they  buying  ?  "  asked  Bessie. 

"  We  will  stop  and  see.     These  are  all  priests. 


HOUSEKEEPING    IN   CANTON. 


163 


The  two  tliat  you  see  at  the  dask  by  the  wall 
are  filling  up  blank  prayers  to  suit  the  wishes 

of  the  buyers. 
They  may  be 
able  to  write, 
but  tlie   priests 


BUBNINa  PBATEB8. 


persuade  the  people  that  they  alone  know  how 
to  write  so  that  the  gods  will  hear." 


164      THE   ANSONS   IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"Then  do  they  read  off  these  prayers?  or  do 
they  make  spit-balls  of  them,  as  they  do  in 
Japan  ?"  asked  Bertie. 

"Neither,"  replied  Dr.  Balkom.  "I  will  show 
you  what  they  do  with  them ;  come  this  way." 

He  led  the  way  through  some  small  streets, 
until  they  came  to  a  little  temple  standing  in  the 
midst  of  a  clump  of  banana  and  palm  trees. 
After  waiting  a  moment,  a  bareheaded,  bare- 
footed Chinaman  came  to  the  keeper  sitting  by 
the  door,  and  getting  a  light  from  him,  touched 
it  to  a  piece  of  paper  upon  which  some  Chinese 
characters  were  written,  and  held  it  until  it  was 
all  burned  up. 

"That's  the  way  the  Chinese  pray.  They 
send  up  their  prayers  in  smoke,"  said  Dr.  Bal- 
kom. "  They  send  money,  clothing,  horses,  etc., 
to  their  dead  friends  in  the  same  way;  that  is, 
they  make  pictures  of  the  money,  or  clothing,  or 
horses,  and  burn  them  up.  Most  of  those  whom 
we  saw  buying  prayers  will  take  them  either  to 
the  temples,  where  they  will  burn  them  before 


HOUSEKEEPING    IN   CANTON.  165 

the  idols,  or  they  will  take  them  home  and  burn 
them  before  the  household  altar.  Here  " — stoop- 
ing and  pointing  to  an  object  just  within  the 
door  of  the  house  they  were  passing — "is  a 
household  altar.  Do  you  see  that  block  of  wood 
all  carved,  and  with  cliaracters  written  upon  it  ? 
That  is  an  'Ancestral  Tablet/  " 

The  tablet  to  which  Dr.  Balkora  pointed  was 
made  of  wood,  and  was  about  twelve  inches  high 
and  three  inches  wide.  It  consisted  of  three 
pieces,  a  pedestal,  an  upright  piece,  and  a  block 
upon  which  certain  Chinese  characters  were 
carved. 

"Often,"  said  Dr.  Balkom,  "a  place  is  cut  in 
the  back,  in  which  pieces  of  paper  containing 
the  names  of  the  ancestors  are  placed.  Every 
day,  incense  and  paper  prayers  are  burned  before 
this  tablet." 

"Do  they  pray  to  their  dead  fathers?"  asked 
Mr.  Anson. 

"Yes,  to  them,  not /or  them.  They  also  go 
and  pray  at  the  graves  of  their  ancestors.     I 


166      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 


ANCESTRAL  TABLET. 


have  at  home  a  prayer, 
given  me  by  one  of  my 
converts,  which  I  will 
translate  for  you  some 
time.  The  Chinese  be- 
lieve, you  should  remem- 
ber, that  every  man  has 
three  souls:  one  of 
which  at  his  death  goes 
to  heaven,  one  remains 
with  the  body  in  the 
grave,  and  one  is  brought 
home,  and  lives  in  the 
ancestral  tablet.  In 
April  of  each  year,  a 
day  is  selected,  when 
especial  worship  is  paid 
at  the  graves.  Every 
man,  woman,  and  child 
hastens  away  to 
the  family  tombs, 
taking     offerings 


HOUSEKEEPING   IN  CANTON.  167 

and  candles  to  worship  at  the  grave.  To  neglect 
this  ceremony  is  counted  a  slight  to  one's  dead 
parents." 

This  is  the  translation  of  the  prayer  offered 
at  the  grave  which  Dr.  Balkom  gave  to  Mr. 
Anson: 

"  Tankwang,  12th  Year,  3d  Moon,  Ut  Day. 

"I,  Lin  Kwang,  the  second  son  of  the  third 
generation,  presume  to  come  before  the  grave  of 
my  ancestor,  Lin  Kung.  Revolving  years  have 
brought  again  the  season  of  spring.  Cherishing 
sentiments  of  veneration,  I  look  up  and  sweep 
your  tomb.  Prostrate,  I  pray  that  you  will 
come  and  be  present,  and  that  you  will  grant 
to  your  posterity  that  they  may  be  prosperous 
and  illustrious.  At  this  season  of  genial  showers 
and  gentle  breezes,  I  desire  to  recompense  the 
root  of  my  existence,  and  exert  myself  sincerely. 
Always  grant  your  safe  protection.  Most  rev- 
erently, I  present  the  five-fold  sacrifice  of  a  pig, 
a  fowl,  a  duck,  a  goose,  and  a  fish;  also,  an 
offering  of  five  plates   of  fruit,  with  libations 


168        THE   ANSONS   IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 


of  spirituous  liquors,  earnestly  entreating  that 
you  will  come  and  view  them.  With  the  most 
attentive  respect,  this  announcement  is  presented 
on  high." 

Dr.    Balkom    remarked,    after    reading    and 
handing  the  prayer  to  Mr.  Anson: 

"  To  a  Chinaman  there  is  no  greater  sin  than 

to  neglect  the 
worship  of  an 
ancestor ;  n  o 
greater  calam- 
ity can  hap- 
pen than  that 
lie  should  die 
and  be  buried 
away  from  his 
native  land. 
BRINGING  HOMK  SOUL.  Almost  cvcry 

steamer  that  crosses  the  Pacific  from  America 
carries  one  or  more  preserved  bodies  of  China- 
men, taking  them  home  to  be  buried." 

A  few  days  later,  when  the  Ansons,  with  the 


HOUSEKEEPING   IN  CANTON.  169 

native  preacher,  were  sauntering  in  the  suburbs, 
they  met  a  man  carrying  a  bamboo  over  his 
shoulder,  from  the  end  of  which  hung  a  ball 
with  a  coat  below  it.  He  was  bringing  home 
one  of  the  souls  of  his  dead  father,  which  was 
to  dwell  in  the  Ancestral  Tablet. 

The  weeks  slipped  away  rapidly  in  the  pleas- 
ant company  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Balkom,  and  in 
ceaseless  sight-seeing.  The  Ansons  thought 
that,  on  the  whole,  the  Chinese  were  not  as 
lovable  a  race  as  the  Japanese,  but  that  they 
were  fully  as  much  in  need  of  the  gospel.  Dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  their  stay,  Mr.  Anson 
noticed  a  thoughtfulness  on  Bertie's  face,  when- 
ever they  began  to  talk  about  mission  work  in 
China.  The  noble  character  and  self-denying 
zeal  of  Dr.  Balkom  so  impressed  the  boy,  that 
within  his  own  heart  there  began  to  be  started 
searching  questions.  It  was  pleasant  enough  to 
travel  about  as  they  were  doing,  but  what  if  he 
were  always  to  live  in  this  noisy,  filthy  city  of 
Canton  ?     Why  should  he  not  become  a  mission- 


170      THE  ANSONS   IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

ary?  There  was  evidently  need  of  many  more 
like  Dr.  Balkom.  The  questions  were  not  to 
be  answered  at  once.  When  the  time  came 
for  saying  good-bye,  as  the  steamer  was  to 
bear  them  down  to  Hong-Kong,  Bertie  could 
not  help  feeling  that  there  might  be  truth  in 
Dr.  Bitlkom's  words : 

"  I  feel,  for  some  reason  or  other,  that  we 
may  see  you  again  in  Canton,  my  boy." 

In  a  day  or  two  the  Ansons  were  again  upon 
the  ocean,  steaming  around  the  corner  of  China, 
in  the  direction  of  the  Land  of  the  White  Ele- 
pliant. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

IN  THE  LAND  OF  THE  WHITE  ELEPHANT. 

TT  had  been  Mr.  Anson's  purpose  to  visit 
Cochin  China  on  his  way  to  Siam,  but  the 
unsettled  state  of  that  country,  on  account  of  the 
French  and  Chinese  wars,  led  him  to  propose 
going  to  Siam  direct.  So  the  family  took  a 
French  steamer  to  Saigon,  in  Cochin  China,  and 
a  sailing  vessel  from  Saigon  to  Bangkok,  Siam. 
This  last  was  not  so  pleasant  a  way  of  traveling. 
After  crossing  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the 
River  Meinam,  the  Ansons  took  their  places  in 
a  small  tow-boat,  and  started  up  the  river  to 
Bangkok,  thirty  miles  above  the  entrance.  The 
banks  of  the  river  were  lined  with  dense  vege- 
tation; gigantic  palms  and  other  tropical  trees 
were  covered  with  trailing  vines  coiling  around 
their  huge  trunks.  Here  and  there  a  fisher- 
man's hut  was  built  out  over  the  river.     Many 

171 


172      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

small  boats  were  plying  to  and  fro.  The  party 
landed  in,  what  seemed  to  them,  the  midst  of  a 
forest  of  cocoanut  and  other  trees;  but  they 
soon  found  that*  it  was  the  foreign  portion  of 
Bangkok.  The  native  city  was  yet  three  miles 
further  up  the  river.  Mr.  Anson  had  been  in- 
formed, while  in  China,  of  the  only  foreign 
hotel  in  the  city;  and,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  man  in  charge  of  the  little  steam-launch, 
proceeded  to  the  place.  The  hotel  was  on  the 
bank  of  the  river,  a  little  way  above  the  land- 
ing ;  almost  all  of  the  houses  front  on  the  river, 
which  is  a  sort  of  street  for  Bangkok.  Very 
many  canals  run  off  from  the  river  among  the 
houses. 

Bangkok  is  the  Siamese  capital,  and  has  about 
half  a  million  inhabitants;  among  these,  there 
are  more  than  twenty  thousand  priests  of  the 
Buddhist  religion.  There  are  multitudes  of 
Chinese  in  Siam,  as  there  are  in  all  parts  of  the 
East,  and  they  have  their  own  temples  and 
priests.     It  happened  one  morning,  while  Bertie 


LAND   OF  THE   WHITE   ELEPHANT.        173 

was  sitting  on  the  veranda  of  the  hotel,  waiting 
for  breakfast,  that  he  saw  a  priest's  begging-boat 
come  down  the  river.  After  breakfast,  he 
thought  that  it  would  be  a  good  idea  to  write 
down  what  he  had  seen,  as  a  part  of  one  of  his 
letters  home. 

"It  is  a  curious  sight  to  see  the  begging 
priests.  They  all  wear  yellow  gowns,  and  their 
heads  are  so  clean  shaven  that  they  look  as  if 
they  had  been  polished.  Each  boat  contains  one 
priest  and  a  boy-paddler.  Before  the  priest 
stands  a  covered  basket.  The  boy  rows  up  be- 
fore a  house,  then  the  priest,  in  absolute  silence, 
takes  off  the  lid  of  the  basket ;  some  one  belong- 
ing to  the  house  steps  to  the  door,  and  takes 
from  a  kettle  of  rice  a  ladleful,  and  empties  it 
into  the  priest's  basket.  The  boy  pulls  away. 
Nobody  speaks  a  word.  The  priests  seem  to  be 
a  lazy  set  of  folks.  They  lie  around  smoking 
and  chatting  most  of  the  day." 

A  day  or  two  after,  several  missionaries  came 
to  see  Mr.  Anson,  among  them  the  venerable 


174      THE  ANSONS  IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

Dr.  Kean,  who  had  been  working  among  the 
Chinese,  either  in  Siam  or  China,  nearly  fifty 
years.  His  long  white  beard  swept  his  breast, 
and  he  seemed  a  veritable  patriarch;  yet  the 
tenderly  aifectionate  way  in  which  he  kissed 
Bessie,  as  he  bade  them  welcome  to  Siam,  won 
the  hearts  of  all  the  Ansons.  After  a  little 
pleasant  conversation,  he  turned  to  Mr.  Anson 
and  suggested  a  stroll  in  the  garden. 

"I  wanted  to  mention  one  little  thing  to  you. 
I  do  not  want  to  be  officious,  but  as  a  Christian 
brother,  I  want  to  serve  you,  if  I  can.  You  can 
throw  away  my  advice,  or  you  can  act  upon  it, 
as  you  like.  My  long  experience  in  the  East 
makes  me  see  that  which  would  escape  the  notice 
of  another.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  your  good 
wife  is  beginning  to  be  subject  to  that  fever 
which  is  so  great  a  trouble  to  foreigners  in  the 
East.  She  is  but  in  the  beginning  of  the  attack. 
I  do  not  think  that  you  can  check  it  while  in 
these  tropical  countries.  If  I  were  you,  I  would 
say  nothing  to  Mrs.  Anson  about  the   matter. 


LAND   OF   THE   WHITE   ELEPHANT.        175 

but  I  would  just  quietly  arrange  my  plans  so 
that  you  shall  see  all  that  is  of  importance  in 
Siam,  Burmah,  and  India,  and  then  hasten  to 
the  Holy  Land,  and  thence  to  Turkey  and  home. 
You  are  here  just  in  the  best  season,  for  the 
winter  months  are  endurable  in  the  tropics,  or 
else  I  would  urge  you  to  retrace  your  journey 
directly  to  America,  or  to  go  to  Europe." 

"  I  am  indeed  grateful  to  you.  Dr.  Kean,  for 
your  thoughtful  kindness.  I  assure  you  that  I 
appreciate  it.  I  have  noticed  a  quietness,  a  de- 
pression of  spirits,  a  loss  of  appetite  and  sleep, 
in  Mrs.  Anson,  except  when  we  were  aboard 
ship.  She  then  seems  much  better.  I  will  re- 
consider my  plans.  This  is,  I  suppose,  one  of 
the  dangers  to  which  we  are  subject  in  traveling. 
We  shall  try  to  see  several  temples  in  Bang- 
kok, and  in  a  day  or  two  start  for  Rangoon, 
Burmah." 

"  The  best  temples  for  you  to  see,  and  they 
will  give  you  an  idea  of  all  of  the  rest,  are  the 
Wat  Chang  Pagoda,  and  the  Temple  of  the 


176      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

Emerald  Idol.  I  will  be  your  guide  this 
afternoon  to  Wat  Chang,  if  it  will  suit  you." 

The  same  afternoon  saw  them  in  Dr.  Kean's 
boat,  ascending  the  river  to  the  pagoda. 

Passing  through  a  large  building  with  a 
sloping  roof,  our  friends,  under  Dr.  Kean's 
guidance,  stood  beneath  the  famous  Wat  Chang 
Pagoda.  From  one  of  the  priests,  Mr.  Anson 
bought  several  handsome  photographs  of  the 
pagoda  and  its  spire.  As  he  wrote  in  his 
journal  on  returning  to  the  hotel : 

"  This  is  the  most  splendid  temple  I  have 
seen  since  leaving  Japan.  The  pagoda  is  shaped 
somewhat  like  a  bell.  It  rises  to  a  height,  so 
Dr.  Kean  tells  me,  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
feet.  Every  inch  of  its  surface  glitters  with 
curious  ornaments  and  carvings;  the  forms  of 
men  and  beasts  are  like  nothing  in  heaven 
above,  nor  earth  beneath,  nor  waters  under  the 
earth.  The  spire  is  made  of  brick,  and  plastered 
on  the  outside.  In  large  niches  in  the  sides, 
about   two-thirds   of  the  way  to   the   top,   are 


The  Ansoiis. 


I'age  17«. 


WAT  CUANG  PAGODA. 


WMIVERSITY 

OF 


LAND   OF  THE   WHITE   ELEPHANT.        177 

images  of  Gfautama  Buddha,  riding  on  white 
elephants  made  of  shining  porcelain,  each  facing 
one  point  of  the  compass.  A  sharp  spire 
rises  from  the  top.  All  over  this  temple  tower, 
from  the  base  to  the  summit,  from  every  pro- 
jecting point  hang  a  great  number  of  small, 
sweet-toned  bells,  swinging  and  ringing  in  the 
slightest  breeze,  filling  the  air  with  liquid 
melody.  Within  the  Wat  Chang  enclosure, 
besides  the  pagoda  and  temple,  are  smaller 
temples,  priests'  dwellings,  idols,  a  preaching- 
hall,  and  small  parks,  with  flower  and  fruit- 
gardens,  ponds,  caves,  and  stone  statues  of 
famous  saints,  presenting  a  scene  of  bewilder- 
ing richness." 

"What  are  you  thinking  of,  my  boy?" 
kindly  asked  Dr.  Kean,  touching  Bertie  on 
the  shoulder. 

"I  am  trying  to  think  of  some  verses  that 
I  recited  at  one  of  our  scrhool  entertainments, 
about  the  bells.  Those  little  bells  swinging 
and   ringing   in   the   breeze,  brought  it  to  my 

M 


178      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

mind.     But  all   I   can   remember  distinctly  is 
this  one  verse : 

How  they  tinkle,  tinkle,  tinkle, 

While  the  stars  that  oversprinkle 

All  the  heavens,  seem  to  twinkle 

With  a  crystalline  delight ; 

Keeping  time,  time,  time, 

In  a  sort  of  Runic  rhyme. 

To  the  tintinnabulation  that  so  musically  wells 

From  the  bells,  bells,  bells,  bells, 

Bells,  bells— 
From  the  jingling  and  the  tinkling  of  the  bells. 

"  Yes,  the  bells  above  us  do  suggest  that,  and 
yet  the  poet's  bells  were  bells  that  we  never  hear 
in  this  snowless  land.  They  do  jingle  and 
tinkle  melodiously.  I  often  lie  awake  listen- 
ing to  them  in  the  stillness  of  night.  But 
shall  we  drop  in  and  make  a  visit  to  his 
majesty,  the  White  Elephant,  while  we  are  in 
his  neighborhood." 

"Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Anson,  "we  should  like  to 
see  a  genuine  white  elephant;  we  have  heard  so 
much  about  them  in  America  lately." 

"You  must  not  expect  to  see  a  snowy- white 


LAND  OF  THE   WHITE   ELEPHANT.        179 

elephant,  but  only  a  coffee-colored  creature;  I 
will  warn  you,  to  save  you  disappointment," 
added  Dr.  Kean. 

"  Do  the  Siamese  actually  worship  the  White 
Elephant?"  asked  Bertie. 

"You  will  see  for  yourself.  Here  is  his  maj- 
esty." 

On  a  splendid  Persian  carpet,  stood  a  large 
yellowish-brown  elephant.  His  tusks  had  golden 
rings  upon  them,  and  around  his  neck  hung  a 
huge  necklace.  Around  the  carpet^s  edge,  a 
dozen  Siamese  were  kneeling  in  prayer. 

"  Do  they  really  believe  that  the  elephant  is  a 
god?"  questioned  Bertie. 

"  Yes,"  said  Dr.  Kean.  "  They  believe  that 
G^autama  Buddha  lives  in  white  elephants,  and 
80  the  beasts  are  made  sacred.  This  fellow  was 
caught  in  the  woods.  The  king  and  his  fol- 
lowers received  him  with  a  great  procession,  and 
escorted  him  to  his  palace  of  a  stable.  Men 
were  appointed  as  his  slaves,  and  he  was  suf- 
fered to  want  for  nothing.     The  Siamese  regard 


180      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

the  white  elephant  as  the  symbol  of  royalty. 
They  stamp  his  image  on  their  coins  and  em- 
broider it  on  their  flags.  It  is  to  them  what 
the  cross  is  to  Christians,  or  the  crescent  to  the 
Turks.'' 

"  That  is  why  they  call  Siam  the  ^  Land  of  the 
"White  Elephant/  is  it?"  asked  Bertie. 

"  Yes ;  that  is  the  origin  of  the  name.  Japan 
is  the  'Land  of  the  Rising  Sun/  China  the 
'Middle  Kingdom/  and  so  Siam  is  the  'Land 
of  the  White  Elephant.'  Now,  I  think  you 
had  better  rest  awhile,  for  to-morrow  I  want  to 
take  you  to  the  Temple  of  the  Emerald  Idol. 
I  must  first  go  and  get  a  Siamese  friend  to 
secure  me  the  permission  to  take  you  in." 

All  through  the  night  Mrs.  Anson  seemed 
restless  and  uneasy,  though  being  able  to  secure 
some  sleep.  The  next  morning  she  seemed  dis- 
inclined to  go  with  the  rest  of  the  party.  Mr. 
Anson's  persuasions  could  not  rouse  her  from 
her  dejection.  She  insisted  that  the  rest  should 
go,  and  leave  her  alone.     So  Mr.  Anson  waited 


LAND   OF   THE   WHITE   ELEPHANT.        181 

quite  anxiously  for  Dr.  Kean's  coming,  and  his 
fii-st  greeting,  as  he  met  him  in  the  walk  to  the 
hotel,  was : 

"  Well,  doctor,  I  am  in  a  quandaiy.  My  wife 
passed  a  bad  night,  and  she  wants  us  to  do  our 
sight-seeing  to-day  without  her." 

"And  leave  her  alone?" 

"Yes,  and  leave  her  by  herself." 

"  That  will  never  do.  It  would  do  her  more 
harm  than  good.     But  I  will  arrange  it." 

Then  calling  a  servant,  Dr.  Kean  dispatched 
him  with  a  note  to  Mrs.  Kean.  After  delaying 
their  departure  on  various  pretexts,  finally  Mrs. 
Kean  put  in  an  appearance.  Without  ^.ny  delay 
she  asked : 

"Are  you  all  going  away  to-day?" 

"No;  I  am  not  going,"  said  Mrs.  Anson. 

"Is  that  so?  Well,  I  am  almost  glad,  be- 
cause I  want  you  to  myself  to-day.  We  live 
away  from  the  regular  lines  of  travel,  unlike  our 
friends  in  India,  or  China,  or  Japan,  and  we 
rarely  see  travelers  from  our  own  lands.    Dr. 


182      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

Keau  tells  me  that  you  are  going  to  stay  here 
but  a  day  or  two  longer,  and  I  am  hungry  to 
have  you  all  to  myself/^  And  without  giving 
Mrs.  Anson  an  opportunity  to  say  no,  before 
she  knew  what  she  was  doing,  good,  motherly 
Mrs.  Kean  had  bundled  her  off  to  her  boat,  say- 
ing to  the  rest,  "Don't  be  in  a  hurry  to  get  back; 
I  will  take  good  care  of  mamma.'' 

Soon  Mrs.  Anson  was  stretched  out  on  a  long 
bamboo  chair,  with  Mrs.  Kean  at  her  side,  knit- 
ting. In  bright,  cheerful  conversation,  an  hour 
passed,  and  then  one  of  Mrs.  Kean's  classes  of 
Chinese  women  came  to  receive  their  usual  daily 
instruction. 

"  Just  sit  right  on  the  veranda  here ;  we  will 
have  our  lessons  where  the  foreign  lady  can  see 
us,"  she  said  to  them,  in  Chinese. 

Soon  the  strange  sounds  began  to  go  to  and 
fro  among  them.  For  awhile,  Mrs.  Anson  stud- 
ied their  interested  faces,  but  gradually  the  hum 
of  the  unintelligible  sounds  lulled  her  to  sleep. 
After  a  refreshing  nap,  she  awoke  to  find  herself 


LAND   OF  THE  WHITE   ELEPHANT.        183 

restiog  comfoi'tably,  while  one  of  the  Chinese 
girls  was  fanning  her.  Mrs.  Kean  soon  re- 
turned with  the  news  that  luncheon  was  ready. 
The  afternoon  sped  away  so  cheerfully  that  it 
seemed  to  Mrs.  Anson  as  if  the  day  was  an  oasis 
in  a  great  desert  of  dullness  and  despondency. 

Mr.  Anson,  the  children,  and  Dr.  Kean,  were 
admitted  without  difficulty  to  the  Emerald  Idol's 
Temple.  It  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable and  beautiful  buildings  of  its  kind  in 
all  the  East.  The  outside  was  adorned  with 
lofty  eight-sided  pillars,  with  queer  doors  and 
windows,  all  carved  with  a  great  variety  of  em- 
blems, the  lotus  and  palm  occurring  most  fre- 
quently. This  temple,  like  all  Siamese  temples, 
is  built  of  brick,  with  roof  after  roof  rising 
above  it,  and  reaching  out  over  great  porches. 
The  entire  outside  is  plastered  with  a  white  ce- 
ment. The  roof  is  covered  with  differently  col- 
ored tiles.  But  the  altar  was  the  most  wonderful 
part  of  the  temple. 

During  the  afternoon,  Mrs.  Anson,  in  looking 


184      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

over  Mrs.  Kean's  books,  found  a  volume  con- 
taining the  reminiscences  of  an  English  govern- 
ess during  her  life  in  the  Siamese  Court.  She 
happened  to  turn  to  the  description  of  the  Tem- 
ple of  the  Emerald  Idol,  and  wrote  out,  with 
Mrs.  Kean's  permission,  her  account  of  the 
altar: 

"The  altar  is  a  wonder  of  dimensions  and 
splendor — a  pyramid  one  hundred  feet  high, 
terminating  in  a  fine  spire  of  gold,  and  sur- 
rounded on  every  side  by  idols,  all  curious  and 
precious,  from  the  bijou  image  in  sapphire  to  the 
colossal  statue  in  plate  gold.  A  series  of  tro- 
phies these,  gathered  from  the  triumphs  of 
Buddhism  over  the  proudest  forms  of  worship 
in  the  old  pagan  world.  In  the  pillars  that 
surround  the  temple,  and  the  spires  that  taper 
far  aloft,  may  be  traced  types  and  emblems  bor- 
rowed from  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  at  Baalbec, 
the  proud  fane  of  Diana  at  Ephesus,  the  shrines 
of  the  Delian  Apollo;  but  the  Brahminical  sym- 
bols and  interpretations  prevail.     Strange  that  it 


LAND   OF   THE   WHITE   ELEPHANT.        185 

should  be  so  with  a  sect  that  suffered  by  the 
slayings  and  the  banishments  of  a  ruthless  per- 
secation  at  the  hands  of  their  Brahmin  fathers, 
for  the  cause  of  restoring  the  cultui*e  of  that 
simple  and  pure  philosophy  which  flourished 
before  Pantheism. 

"The  floor  is  paved  with  diamond -shaped 
pieces  of  polished  brass,  which  reflect  the  light 
of  tall  tapers  that  have  burned  on  for  more  than 
a  hundred  years,  so  closely  is  the  sacred  fire 
watched.  The  floods  of  light  and  depths  of 
shadow  about  the  altar  are  extreme,  and  the 
effect  overwhelming. 

"The  Emerald  Idol  is  about  twelve  inches 
high,  and  eight  in  width.  Into  the  virgin  gold 
of  which  its  hair  and  collar  are  composed,  must 
have  been  stirred,  while  the  metal  was  yet  molten, 
crystals,  topazes,  sapphires,  rubies,  onyxes,  ame- 
thysts, and  diamonds — the  stones  crude,  or  rudely 
cut,  and  blended  in  such  proportions  as  might 
enhance  to  the  utmost  imaginable  limit  the 
beauty  and  the  cost  of  the  adored  effigy.     The 


186      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

combination  is  as  harmonious  as  it  is  splendid. 
No  wonder  it  is  commonly  believed  that  Buddha 
himself  alighted  on  the  spot,  in  the  form  of  a 
great  emerald,  and  by  a  flash  of  lightning  con- 
jured the  glittering  edifice  and  altar,  in  an  in- 
stant, from  the  earth,  to  be  a  house  and  a  throne 
for  him  there  V^ 

Within  a  few  days  the  Ansons  were  once  more 
upon  the  water,  for  the  steamer  was  bearing 
them  around  the  Malay  Peninsula  and  up  to- 
wards Burmah.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Kean  had  accom- 
panied them  almost  to  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
and  it  was  with  great  reluctance  that  they  bade 
them  good-bye.  Often  in  Bertie's  mind  came  up 
the  cheerful,  contented  faces  of  their  friends,  and 
it  was  one  more  link  in  the  chain  of  golden  in- 
fluences that  was  binding  the  boy's  heart  to  the 
missionary  work. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

UNDER  THE  SHADOW  OF  SHWAY  DAGON. 

rpHE  voyage  to  Burmah  was  an  uneventful 
one.  The  Rangoon  River,  at  its  mouth 
about  two  miles  broad,  and  with  its  shores  low 
and  wooded,  narrows  to  about  one-third  of  a 
mile  in  width  opposite  the  great  city  of  Ran- 
goon. There  are  several  hotels  in  Rangoon, 
and  the  Ansons  had  no  difficulty  in  finding 
comfortable  quarters.  Most  of  the  European 
houses  are  raised  upon  piles;  they  are  built 
of  teak  boards,  and  have  tile  roofs.  From 
the  steamer's  deck,  the  Ansons  could  see  the 
English  settlement,  with  several  English-looking 
churches ;  and  beyond,  the  large  pagodas.  Far 
away,  to  the  horizon,  stretched  the  forest  of 
green  palms,  bamboos,  and  banana  trees.  The 
mo8t  wonderful  sight   in  all   Rangoon   is  the 

Shway   Dagon,   or    Golden    Pagoda.      Indeed, 

187 


188      THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

this  is  the  most  monstrous  pagoda,  not  only 
in  Burmah,  but  in  all  the  world.  It  is  really 
a  mile  from  the  city,  situated  on  a  high  hill. 
It  so  happened  that  the  King  of  native  Burmah 
had  recently  presented  some  diamonds,  to  be 
added  to  the  "umbrella"  —  the  Ktee — on  the 
top  of  the  pagoda;  and  the  sloping  sides  were 
yet  covered  with  the  bamboo  scaffolding  used 
in  re-erecting  the  hHee.  Consequently,  no  one 
of  the  Ansons  had  noticed  the  Shway  Dagon 
until  the  day  after  their  landing.  Bertie,  all 
impatient  to  see  what  was  to  be  seen,  had  risen 
early,  and,  while  glancing  around,  happened  to 
see  the  gigantic  pagoda  casting  its  great  shadow 
as  the  sun  struck  its  sides.  He  ran  in  to  his 
papa  and  begged  him  to  come  out  and  see  the 
pagoda. 

"Wait  until  I  get  my  hat,  and  we  will  walk 
out  to  see  it,"  said  Mr.  Anson.  Bertie  was 
all  eagerness  to  go.  After  a  brief  stroll  they 
reached  the  temple  grounds  and  leisurely  ex- 
amined the  great  structure  from  without. 


UNDER  SHADOW   OF  SHWAY   DAGON.     189 

''There  will  be  time  enougli  by-and-by  for 
us  to  examine  it  more  thoroughly ;  besides  this, 
we  have  not  yet  had  breakfast.  I  imagine  that 
we  should  have  some  difficulty  to  get  about  in 
the  temple  grounds,  unless  we  had  some  one  to 
guide  us,"  Mr.  Anson  replied  to  Bertie's  sug- 
gestion that  they  go  inside. 

While  seated  at  breakfast,  a  servant  brought 
in  a  card,  with  the  name  "Rev.  I.  K.  Wilson 
and  wife"  upon  it. 

"  I  do  not  know  who  this  can  be,"  said  Mr. 
Anson;  "but,  doubtless,  it  is  some  one  of  our 
kind  missionary  friends  come  to  look  us  up.  I 
will  go  right  out  to  see  them." 

Advancing  to  the  parlor,  he  met  a  dark-eyed 
young  man,  who  held  out  to  him  his  left  hand — 
for  his  right  was  missing — saying  : 

"  I  presume  that  you  do  not  know  me,  though 
I  recollect  you  very  well." 

"  No,"  replied  Mr.  Anson,  "  you  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  me." 

"  I  used  to  be  one  of  your  Sunday-school  at 


190      THE  ANS0N8    IN  ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

DicksoD,  Ohio.  You  had  not  then  become  a 
minister.  May-be  you  will  remember  me  as  the 
little  boy — I  must  have  been  about  seven  years 
old  then — who  used  to  bring  grasshoppers  and 
toads  to  Sunday-school.  I  do  not  know  that 
you  knew  that  I  did  it,  for  you  never  caught 
me  at  it;  but  I  think  it  likely  that  you  sus- 
pected me." 

"  Well,  well,  are  you  that  little  chap  ?  And 
you  a  minister  and  a  missionary !  I  never 
thought  it  then,''  added  Mr.  Anson. 

"  Yes,  and  I  heard  and  remembered  more  of 
what  you  said,  than  you  thought  that  I  did. 
Well,  now  that  you  recognize  me,  I  want  you 
to  come  home  with  me.  My  wife  and  I  are 
alone,  and  we  would  be  real  glad  to  have  you 
occupy  our  spare  room." 

"  No,  I  cannot  do  that " — ^and  Mr.  Anson  told 
Mr.  Wilson  of  his  plan  in  this  tour  in  Asia. 
"You  missionaries  are  all  warm-hearted  and 
hospitable,  but  I  am  so  confident  that,  with 
my  entire  family,  I  should  be  a  burden  upon 


UNDER  SHADOW   OF  SHWAY  DAGON.     191 

you,  that  I  have  determined,  wherever  it  was 
possible,   to  look  out  for  myself." 

"Well,  I  do  not  want  to  insist  in  pressing 
my  home  upon  you,  but  you  will,  at  least,  bring 
your  family  and  dine  with  us  occasionally  dur- 
ing your  stay.  I  came  to  know  that  you  were 
here  by  hearing  one  of  our  brethren  speak 
of  your  visit  to  Japan;  and  from  his  descrip- 
tion, I  was  quite  sure  that  it  was  my  old 
teacher  of  whom  he  was  speaking,  and  so, 
with  my  wife,  hastened  in  to  be  the  first  to 
claim  you." 

Just  then  the  rest  of  the  Ansons  came  in,  and 
shortly  Mrs.  Anson  and  Mrs.  Wilson  were  hav- 
ing a  quiet  chat  together,  while  Mr.  Anson  pro- 
ceeded to  get  Mr.  Wilson's  advice  as  to  the  best 
way  to  use  the  week  that  would  elapse  before  a 
steamer  would  leave  for  Madras.  Mr.  Wilson 
suggested  a  day  or  two  at  Maulmain,  and  the 
rest  of  the  time  to  be  spent  in  and  about  Ran- 
goon. Mr.  Anson  had  already  mentioned  the 
state  of  Mrs.  Anson's  health. 


192      THE   ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

" Suppose/'  suggested  Mr.  Wilson,  "that  to- 
morrow morning,  just  before  sunrise,  while  it  is 
yet  cool,  you  and  I  and  this  young  man  climb 
to  the  top  of  Shway  Dagon.  You  can  get  a 
glorious  view  from  its  top,  and  we  can  get  up 
with  no  great  difficulty." 

"  That  will  be  like  climbing  up  the  Pyramids 
of  Egypt,  will  it  not?''  inquired  Bertie. 

"Yes;  very  much  like  it,"  Mr.  Wilson  replied, 
adding,  "you  must  not  go  into  the  sun  without 
an  umbrella,  nor  had  you  better  go  out  of  doors 
at  all  during  the  heat  of  the  day.  About  four 
o'clock,  when  I  have  dismissed  my  teacher,  I 
will  come  and  take  you  through  the  grounds  of 
Shway  Dagon." 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  the  three 
strolled  through  the  streets  of  Rangoon  out  to 
Shway  Dagon.  Something  attracted  Bertie's 
eyes,  and  he  said :  "What  are  those  things  for  ?" 

"Those  are  griffins,  or  guardian  dogs.  They 
are  put  there  to  keep  out  evil  spirits.  I  suppose 
that  we  shall  not  be  troubled  by  them." 


UNDER  SHADOW  OF  SHWAY  DAGON.      193 

Passing  between  the  griffins  into  a  long  pas- 
sage-way, the  Ansons  found  some  very  humble 
and  yet  very  costly  paintings — not  very  beauti- 
ful, but  with  so  much  gilding  as  to  make  them 
costly.  "These  show  the  tortures  of  wicked 
people,"  explained  Mr.  Wilson. 

Then  coming  to  the  foot  of  a  flight  of  stairs, 
which  they  climbed,  they  found  themselves  upon 
a  platform,  about  a  thousand  feet  square,  and 
from  the  middle  of  the  platform  rose  the  great 
golden  pagoda,  some  five  hundred  feet  in  diam- 
eter at  the  base,  and  towering  to  a  height  of 
three  hundred  feet. 

"  Do  you  think  you  will  be  afraid  to  climb  up 
there,  Bertie?"  asked  Mr.  Anson. 

"  We  shall  hire  a  few  coolies  to  help  us ;  they 
will  not  let  us  fall,"  said  Mr.  Wilson. 

For  an  hour  they  rambled  about  the  platform 
and  grounds,  among  the  smaller  pyramids. 
Within  the  pagoda  are  some  shrines  and  idols; 
the  larger  idols  being  made  of  brick  and  mortar 
gilded  over,  and  the  smaller  ones  of  metal. 


194      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"I  will  bring  Dr.  Finney,  our  veteran  mis- 
sionary father,  to  see  you  to-night,"  Mr.  Wilson 
said.  "He  has  been  here  some  twenty-four  or 
five  years.  He  knows  all  about  Burmah,  and 
can  tell  you,  as  he  told  it  to  me,  the  story  of  the 
Shway  Dagon.  You  will  be  interested  in  it,  I 
know,  and  it  will  give  you  a  better  understanding 
of  Buddhism  and  pagodas  than  you  can  get 
otherwise." 

Mrs.  Anson,  looking  pale  and  weak,  met  Ber- 
tie and  his  father  on  their  return.  Bessie  had 
stayed  to  care  for  her  mother  in  their  absence. 
Mr.  Anson's  heart  was  full  of  anxiety  as  he  no- 
ticed Mrs.  Anson's  appearance.  He  made  no 
other  remark,  however,  than  to  say : 

"Dr.  Finney  and  his  Avife  are  coming  to  see  us 
to-night.  I  remember  seeing  Mrs.  Finney  some 
years  ago,  and  I  think  that  she  will  help  you  to 
feel  quite  bright  and  cheerful.  Mrs.  Wilson  is 
coming  for  you  with  a  pony  and  ^trap'  to- 
morrow morning,  when  Mr.  Wilson  takes  us  to 
climb  the  Shway  Dagon." 


UNDER  SHADOW   OF  SHWAY   DAGON.      195 

"What  is  a  'trap/  papa?''  asked  Bessie. 

"  Don't  you  remember  the  low,  broad  carriages 
that  we  saw  in  Yokohama  and  in  Shanghai?" 
asked  Bertie.  "  Those  are  '  traps.'  Is  Mr.  Wil- 
son rich,  papa  ?  " 

"No;  one  of  his  friends,  an  English  mer- 
chant, has  bidden  him  use  it  whenever  he  wants, 
while  he  is  taking  a  business  trip  up  to  Cal- 
cutta." 

Dr.  Finney  was  a  quiet,  gentle-voiced,  yet  evi- 
dently learned  speaker.  He  had  translated  the 
Buddhist  legends  from  the  Burmese,  and  had 
made  himself  familiar  with  the  whole  history  of 
the  Shway  Dagon.  Bertie  sat  in  a  bamboo  chair, 
a  little  outside  of  the  circle  gathered  upon  the 
veranda,  and,  in  the  dusk,  jotted  down  a  few 
catchwords,  from  which  he  wrote  out  afterwards, 
with  his  father's  help, 

THE  STORY  OF  SHWAY  DAGON. 

"Two  brothers  from  Burmah,  once  upon  a 
time,   made    an   offering  to  Gautama  Buddha. 


196      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

He,  in  return,  gave  them  eight  hairs  that  came 
out  when  he  stroked  his  head.  He  told  them 
to  build  a  pagoda  over  them.  They  started  to 
return  home,  but  on  the  way  lost  six  of  the 
hairs.  In  a  miraculous  way,  they  found  them 
again.  A  good  spirit,  a  sort  of  fairy,  told  them 
where  some  other  relics,  of  which  Gautama  had 
spoken,  might  be  found.  They  dug  a  hole,  and 
secured  a  water-scoop  of  one  great  saint,  a  robe 
of  another,  and  the  staff  of  a  third.  They  built 
a  shrine  over  these  relics  and  the  eight  hairs. 
Others,  later  on,  enlarged  the  pagoda  over  the 
relics,  until  it  got  to  be  of  its  present  size. 
About  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago, 
a  Burmese  king  cast  a  gigantic  bell  for  the  pa- 
goda. The  whole  of  the  outside  is  covered  with 
gold  leaf,  a  little  *  patchy/  because  put  on  at  dif- 
ferent times,  and  with  gold  leaf  of  different  fine- 
ness. The  Ntee,  or  umbrella-shaped  finial  on  the 
top,  is  made,  as  you  will  see  to-morrow,  if  the 
guard  will  let  you  go  near  enough,  of  a  number 
of  gilded  iron  rings,  from  which  hang  a  great 


IINDER  SHADOW   OF   SHWAY   DAGON.      197 


many  little  silver  and  brass  bells,  that  are  swung 
and  rung  by  the  wind.  Not  long  ago,  one  of 
the  kings  put  up  a  new  hHee,     It  was  studded 

1  with  dia- 
monds, and 
was  said  to  be 
worth  three 


WOR8HIPIMO  A  TOOTH  OF  BUDDHA. 


198      THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  present  king  has 
given  a  few  gems. 

"  The  bell  near  the  pagoda,  big  enough  for  a 
man  to  stand  upright  within  it,  was  once  carried 
off  by  the  British.  But  they  could  not  load  it, 
it  was  so  heavy,  and  it  fell  into  the  sea.  The 
Burmese  say  that  the  gods  restored  it  to  the 
Shway  Dagon.  The  bell  has  a  great  deal  of  gold 
in  it." 

After  much  pleasant  conversation,  the  Finneys 
and  their  friends  retired,  leaving  the  Ansons 
alone.  The  next  morning  they  were  to  rise 
early  and  make  the  ascent  of  the  pagoda.  But 
in  the  night  a  fierce  wind  blew,  and  so  shattered 
the  scaffolding  that  it  was  deemed  unsafe  for  peo- 
ple to  climb  it. 

The  next  morning,  therefore,  instead  of  going 
to  Shway  Dagon,  together  with  Mr.  Wilson,  the 
Ansons  went  aboard  the  little  steamer  that  was 
to  bear  them  to  Maulmain.  As  they  entered 
the  Salwen  River,  on  which  Maulmain  is  situ- 
ated,  Mr.  Wilson    pointed    out    the   enclosure 


UNDER  SHADOW  OF  SHWAY  DAGON.      199 

in  which  is  the  grave  of  the  first  Mrs.  Judson ; 
where  sixty  years  ago  her  body  had  been  laid 
away  to  rest. 

Rangoon  and  its  neighborhood  was  level  and 
flat,  but  Maulraain  was  situated  in  a  hilly 
country.  Pagodas  crown  every  hill-top.  It 
seemed  to  Mr.  Anson  as  if  the  whole  neighbor- 
hood was  full  of  historic  associations  with  Dr. 
Judson's  work.  If  Bertie  had  been  impressed 
with  his  visit  to  the  missionaries  in  Japan  and 
China  and  Siam;  if  any  feelings  that  possibly 
he  ought  to  be  a  missionary  had  been  started  in 
his  heart,  by  his  conversations  with  Sasaki,  or 
with  Dr.  Kean,  he  was  much  more  moved  by 
the  sights  of  Maul  main,  the  missionaries'  graves, 
their  old  homes,  and  the  scenes  of  their  labors. 
Here,  for  the  first  time,  he  ventured  to  tell  his 
mamma  of  what  he  had  been  thinking.  Press- 
ing him  to  her  heart  with  all  a  mother's  love, 
she  said: 

"  We  should  be  glad  to  have  you  always  with- 
in easy   reach  of   us,   Bertie.      We  love   you 


200      THE   ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 


dearly.  It  would  indeed  be  a  great  sacrifice" 
— and  the  tears  began  to  flow  at  the  thought  of 
a  separation — "to  have 
you  thousands  of  miles 
from  father  or  mother. 
Yet    you  will  be   a   man 


PAGODA  OP  MAULMAIN. 


then,  and  we  must  not  let  our  love  for  you  be 
stronger  than  our  love  for  our  Saviour.  Do  not 
make  any  promises,  my  boy;   but  think  about 


UNDER  SHADOW   OF   SIIWAY   TAGON.       201 

it,  pray  about  it,  and  our  Heavenl  v-  Father  will 
surely  tell  you  what  to  do  when  the  time 
comes." 

"What  is  that,  mamma?"  Bertie  had  not 
yet,  he  felt,  grown  too  old  to  use  the  child- 
like "mamma." 

"Don't  you  recognize  the  bells,  my  son? 
They  are  the  pagoda  bells.  On  the  Maulmain 
pagoda's  Ktees  the  bells  are  almost  all  of  silver. 
How  sweetly  the  bells  ring !  Did  you  ever  read 
Mrs.  Emily  Judson's  poem,  *  Watching,'  the  one 
that  was  composed  while  Dr.  Judson  lay  in  his 
sickness?  No?  Let  me  repeat  a  few  of  the 
lines: 

On  the  pagoda  spire, 

The  bells  are  s\vinging, 

Tlieir  little  golden  circlet  in  a  flutter, 

With  tales  the  wooing  winds  have  dared  to  utter, 

Till  all  are  ringing, 

As  if  a  choir 

Of  golden-nested  birds,  in  heaven  were  singing  ; 

And  with  a  lulling  sound, 

The  music ^ate  around. 

And  drops  like  balm  into  the  drowsy  ear ; 

Commingling  with  the  hum 


202      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

Of  the  Sepoy's  distant  drum, 
And  lazy  beetle  ever  droning  near. 
Sounds,  these  of  deepest  silence  bom, 
Like  night  made  visible  bj'^  morn  ; 
So  silent,  that  I  sometimes  start. 
To  hear  the  throbbings  of  my  heart, 
And  watch,  with  shivering  sense  of  pain, 
To  see  thy  pale  lids  lift  again. 

For  several  long  hours  they  conversed  to- 
gether of  Dr.  Judson's  earnest  career,  and,  when 
they  knelt  together,  side  by  side,  in  silent 
prayer,  Bertie  felt  that  he  had  been  brought 
to  know  more  perfectly  that  his  young  heart 
and  his  whole  future  life  belonged  to  his 
Saviour.  An  earnest  prayer  for  God^s  guid- 
ance of  their  son  went  up  from  both  father's 
and  mother's  heart,  after  Mrs.  Anson  had  told 
her  husband  of  thek*  boy's  thoughts. 

"  Perhaps,"  suggested  Mr.  Anson,  "  God  will 
send  him  as  my  substitute."  The  tears  trembled 
in  his  eyes,  as  he  once  more  recalled  his  own  de- 
sire to  be  a  missionary  and  the  denied  pleasure. 
"God  save  my  boy  from  such  a  disappointment 
as  mine ! "  he  said  to  Mrs.  Anson.     "  We  must 


UNDER  SHADOW  OF  SHWAY   DAGON.      203 

try  to  train  him  physically,  as  well  as  men- 
tally and  spiritually,  to  qualify  him  for  his 
work." 

After  a  thorough  exploration  of  the  pagodas 
of  Maulmain,  and  after  another  day  of  pleasant 
Lord's  Day  worship  with  the  Christians  of  the 
city,  the  Ansons  and  Mr.  Wilson  started  on  their 
return  to  Rangoon.  Mrs.  Anson  seemed,  owing 
doubtless  to  the  short  trip  from  Rangoon  to 
Maulmain,  to  be  in  somewhat  better  health 
than  when  they  landed  in  Burmah. 

The  evening  before  they  set  sail  for  Madras, 
the  missionaries  of  Rangoon  met  for  their 
monthly  missionary  prayer-meeting.  The  piety 
and  devotion  of  the  missionaries  was  apparent 
in  their  prayers  and  words,  and  Mr.  Anson 
seemed  to  feel  that  his  own  spiritual  strength 
had  been  revived  by  being  in  the  meeting. 

"Yet,"  thought  he,  "how  hard  it  must  be 
where  the  missionaries  are  situated  in  lonely 
places,  and  where  from  year's  beginning  to 
year's  end  they  hear  no  other  voice  in  prayer 


204      THE   ANSOXS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

than  that  of  those  who  look  to  them  for  direc- 
tion !     Surely  they  need  our  prayers." 

Nor  did  the  memory  of  the  missionaries,  es- 
pecially of  Mr.  Wilson  and  of  Dr.  Finney,  fade 
away,  as,  from  the  steamer's  deck,  they  waved 
their  hands  in  a  good-bye. 


A 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FROM  RANGOON  TO  MADRAS. 

S  the  wind  blew  steadily  from  the  east,  the 
vessel  spread  all  its  sails,  and  under  press 
of  steam  and  sail  the  passage  from  Rangoon 
to  Madi-as,  from  Burmah  to  India,  was  quickly 
made.  The  Bay  of  Bengal  is  "the  vast  and 
wandering"  grave  of  our  great  Dr.  Judson; 
the  Indian  Ocean  is  the  mighty  tomb  in  which 
the  precious  remains  of  Dr.  Binney  are  laid. 
Here  their  bodies  rest,  till  the  sea  gives  up 
its  dead.  Here,  not  far  from  the  land  they 
loved,  whose  graves  shall  yield  their  dead,  too, 
when  the  Lord  shall  come. 

Many  boats  were  at  the  steamer's  side  almost 
as  soon  as  she  had  anchored.  The  boats,  as 
Bertie  saw  at  once,  were  unlike  any  of  those 
that  they  had  seen  in  other  countries.  They 
were  made  of  long  planks  sewed  together.     The 

205 


206      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

seams  were  calked,  yet  appeared  to  be  leaky. 
The  flat  bottom  was  covered  with  twigs,  to  keep 
the  feet  of  the  passengers  dry.  The  sides  seemed 
to  be  bent  very  easily,  but  in  that  consisted  their 
safety.  The  oars,  Bessie  thought,  looked  like 
huge  spoons.  It  was  a  delicate  task,  getting 
to  shore  without  a  wetting.  The  sea  is  always 
rough,  the  waves  always  rolling,  and  the  surf 
always  breaking.  There  is  a  huge  harbor  in 
process  of  building  at  present;  gigantic  break- 
waters are  to  enclose  a  basin  nearly  a  thousand 
yards  square.  Had  the  Ansons  come  a  few 
years  later,  they  might  have  been  saved  much 
unpleasantness  in  landing.  As  it  was,  Mrs. 
Anson  and  Bessie  had  to  be  let  down  into  the 
little  Masula  boats  in  arm-chairs  lowered  by 
ropes.  It  seemed,  sometimes,  as  if  the  tiny 
boats  would  be  swamped  by  the  waves.  But  the 
Ansons  reached  the  beach  in  safety,  and  were 
carried  through  the  wet  sand  by  the  boatmen. 

GharrieSy  or  bullock-carriages,  stood  along  the 
beach,   and   Mr.   Anson   put   Bessie   and   Mrs. 


FROM  RANGOON  TO  MADRAS.      207 

Anson  into  one,  while  he  and  Bertie  trudged 
behind,  screening  themselves  from  the  hot  sun 
by  their  white  umbrellas.  They  went  imme- 
diately to  the  hotel  nearest  the  landing,  kept  by 
a  Swiss  lady.  The  voyage  had  greatly  strength- 
ened Mrs.  Anson,  and,  once  more,  her  husband 
ventured  to  hope  that  they  could  complete  their 
tour  more  leisurely,  and  take  in  all  the  places 
they  had  planned  to  visit.  Mr.  Anson  had 
hoped  to  go  by  the  railway,  and  visit  Bangalore, 
Trichinopoly,  and  Madura,  taking  his  family 
with  him.  Later  he  had  thought  to  take  a 
steamer  and  proceed  to  Calcutta.  It  was  now 
midwinter ;  yet  the  heat  at  noonday  was  very  op- 
pressive, and  Mrs.  Anson  seemed  to  feel  almost 
immediately  the  change  from  the  sea  to  the 
shore.  This  disconcerted  Mr.  Anson's  plans, 
yet  he  knew  not  how  to  re-arrange  them.  As 
had  happened  everywhere  else,  so  in  Madi-as, 
the  American  missionaries  began  to  call  on  Mr. 
Anson.  It  was  one  of  the  pleasantest  parts  of 
th^  journey,  this  privilege  of  meeting  so  many 


208      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

of  the  missionaries.  Some  of  the  missionaries 
were  resident  in  Madras;  yet  others  had  come 
to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  missionary  worker 
among  the  Telugu  people.  Among  the  rest 
were  several  who  had  just  returned  from  a 
furlough  in  America,  and  had  delayed  their 
departure  for  Guntoor  and  Nellore,  until  after 
the  missionary  meeting.  Mr.  Anson  met  these 
friends  at  the  gathering  to  which  he  had  been 
invited.  In  the  course  of  conversation,  one  of 
them,  Mr.  Newhold,  from  Guntoor,  hearing  Mr. 
Anson  mention  that  his  plans  were  upset  and 
that  he  scarcely  knew  what  to  do,  suggested  a 
scheme,  which  Mr.  Anson  soon  afterwards 
adopted.     Mr.  Newhold  remarked: 

"It  will  be  better  that  Mrs.  Anson  should 
be  as  little  exposed  as  possible  to  the  dangers 
of  a  land  residence.  Yet  you  would  wish  her  to 
see  as  much  of  the  country  and  people  as  pos- 
sible. The  places  which  are  of  great  missionary 
interest  are  right  along  the  road  to  Guntoor, 
Ongole  for  instance.     Now  you  and  your  family 


FROM  RANGOON  TO  MADRAS.      209 

can  leave  Madras  and  go  with  me  to  Guntoor. 
I  will  see  you  across  the  Godavery  River  to 
Masulipatam,  where  the  Calcutta  steamers  stop. 
Then  you  can  all  go  on  together  to  Calcutta, 
or  Mrs.  Anson  and  Bessie  can  take  the  steamer, 
and  yourself  and  your  son  proceed  overland  by 
way  of  Juggernaut  to  Calcutta.'' 

"But  I  think  that  I  had  better  not  leave 
Mrs.  Anson;  she  is  hardly  able  to  look  out 
for  herself,  in  her  condition  of  health,"  re- 
plied Mr.  Anson. 

"I  notice,"  said  Mr.  Newhold,  "that  she 
looks  as  if  the  fever  had  touched  her.  Bui 
you  can  determine  your  course  afler  you  get 
to  Guntoor.  Yet,  wait  a  moment,  till  I  speak 
with  one  of  the  ladies  yonder." 

"Now,  do  not  go  to  any  trouble,"  called  Mr. 
Anson  after  him. 

Mr.  Newhold  approached  the  ladies,  saying: 

"  May  I  interrupt  you  ?  I  would  like  to  ask 
if  any  of  you  ladies  are  going  on  to  Calcutta 
shortly." 


210      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"Yes,"  said  a  rather  stout,  yet  active  and 
pleasant  little  woman.  "I  am  going,  but  not 
at  once.  I  must  wait  over  a  steamer  till  our 
Miss  McCally  comes  back  from  Madura,  where 
she  has  gone  to  see  a  friend." 

"Let  me  see,"  continued  Mr.  Newhold;  "that 
will  be  about  three  weeks  from  now,  will  it  not. 
Miss  Bristow?" 

"  Yes,  just  about." 

"  Could  you  look  after  a  lady  and  her  daugh- 
ter, in  Calcutta,  if  they  met  you  on  the  steamer 
at  Masulipatam?   That  is  the  lady  over  yonder." 

"Well,  I  think  that  I  could.  Shall  I  have 
to  look  after  her  husband  too?"  she  asked,  with 
a  smile. 

"No,  I  think  that  he  may  go  by  land  to 
Calcutta,  while  he  sends  his  wife  by  sea." 

"Of  course,  I  shall  be  glad  to  do  anything 
for  her." 

"And  anybody  else.  Miss  Bristow;  you  are 
wonderfully  kind-hearted,"  appreciatively  re- 
marked Mrs.  Newhold. 


FROM  RANGOON  TO  MADRAS. 


211 


"Please  introduce  me  to  her,  Mr.  Newhold, 
and  then  I  can  tell  her,  myself,  how  glad  I 
shall  be  of  her  company,"  said  Miss  Bristow. 

The  matter  was  soon  arranged ;   and  a  day  or 


m'Mmm 


WOBSUIP  IK  TEMPLE  OK  KRISHNA. 


two  afterward,  in  company  with  the  Newholds 
and  several  other  missionaries,  the  Ansons  set 
off  for  Guntoor.     The   first   ninety   miles   was 


212      THE   ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

tmveled  in  a  boat  on  the  canal;  the  rest  of 
the  way  to  Nellore — about  seventeen  miles — 
by  palanquin.  At  Nellore,  they  arrived  just 
before  the  Lord's  Day.  It  was  a  delightful 
day  of  rest,  spent  in  worship  with  the  Telugu 
Christians.  Just  about  sunset  ten  or  eleven  can- 
didates were  baptized  in  the  baptistery  in  the 
midst  of  the  garden,  a  most  beautiful  spot  for 
the  burial  ceremony,  the  resurrection  ordinance. 
While  at  Nellore,  Dr.  Downing  showed  to 
Mr.  Anson  a  little  gold  coin  that  has  a  curious 
history.  About  a  hundred  years  before,  a  peas- 
ant ploughed  against  some  brick-work.  On  dig- 
ging deeper,  he  found  the  ruins  of  an  old  Hin- 
doo Temple  of  Krishna,  or  Juggernaut.  The 
centre  of  this  worship  is  now  carried  on  farther 
up  the  coast.  Many  pictures  of  that  worship, 
as  it  existed  in  olden  times,  are  yet  to  be  had. 
Underneath  the  temple,  this  peasant  found  a 
pot  full  of  Koman  coins  and  medals  of  the 
second  century  after  Christ.  They  were  sold 
as  old  gold   and,  all   but   thirty,  were   melted 


FROM  RANGOON  TO  MADRAS.      213 

down.  The  one  in  Dr.  Downing's  possession 
had  the  name  of  Trajan  upon  it.  It  seemed 
strange  to  find  old  Roman  coins  in  a  Hindoo 
Temple. 

Leaving  Nellore,  about  seventy-five  miles  fur- 
ther on,  they  came  to  Ongole.  Ongole  is  only 
about  one-fourth  the  size  of  Nellore,  but  it  is  a 
town  occupying  a  large  place  in  the  hearts  of 
American  Christians,  because  of  the  famous  in- 
gathering of  thousands  of  Telugu  converts  in  the 
church  at  this  place.  The  pagoda  of  a  heathen 
shrine  towered  up  on  one  side,  as  our  friends  ap- 
proached Ongole,  while  the  missionary  buildings 
gleamed  in  the  sunshine  on  the  other.  In  the 
background  rose  the  hill  upon  which  Dr.  Jewett, 
in  the  days  of  discouragement,  had  prayed  God 
to  save  Ongole,  and  God  responded  by  sending 
Mr.  Clough,  the  earnest  and  successful  missionary. 

Here,  again,  came  impressions  which  strength- 
ened and  deepened  the  convictions  in  Bertie's 
heart.  The  hours  flew  by  all  too  quickly  during 
their  two  days'  tour  among  the  Christian  ham- 


214      THE   ANSONS   IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

lets.      The  visit   to  "prayer-meeting  hill,"  the 
repetition  of  the  story  of  the  great  occurrence 

on  its  top, 
the  prayer- 
meeting  that 
the  visitors 
held  there, 
were  events 
never  to  be 


TEACHING  A  CHILD  TO  "WOESHIP  GANESHA. 


Beyond  Ongole,  just  before  reaching  Guntoor, 
in   passing  a  shrine,  Bessie,  who  had  leil  her 


FROM  RANGOON  TO  MADRAS.     215 

palanquin,  peeped  in.  Running  quickly  to  her 
mamma's  palanquin,  she  motioned  the  bearers  to 
stop,  and  then  asked  her  mamma  to  come  and 
see  something.  Walking  to  the  entrance  of  the 
shrine,  they  saw  a  Hindoo  mother,  with  her  veil 
throAVTi  back,  kneeling,  and  holding  her  little 
boy's  arms,  while  evidently  teaching  him  to  say 
his  prayers  to  an  ugly  old  idol  with  an  ele- 
phant's head. 

"What  is  it?"  called  back  Mr.  Newhold. 

"Something  very  funny,"  said  Bessie. 

"Yes,  and  very  sad,"  added  Mrs.  Anson. 

"  That  is  Ganesha,  the  God  of  AVisdom,"  said 
Mr.  Newhold.  "He  is  a  very  popular  god.  He 
is,  as  you  see,  partly  a  man  and  partly  an  ele- 
phant. The  children  in  the  schools  are  taught 
to  pray  to  him,  and  he  is  adored  by  all  who  wish 
to  become  acquainted  with  Hindu  learning  and 
so-called  wisdom.  You  will  see  his  images  and 
shrines  in  temples  and  schools,  and  also,  occasion- 
ally, under  the  trees  by  the  roadsides.  I  will 
show  you  one  about  a  mile  further  on." 


216      THE   ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

When  they  reached  this  wayside  idol,  Mr. 
Newhold  stopped,  and  all  rested  in  the  shade 
before  the  great  idol. 

"  What  is  the  elephant's  head  for  ? "  inquired 
Bertie. 

"  The  elephant  is  one  of  the  most  sagacious  of 
animals;  the  Hindus  recognize  this,  and  they 
choose  to  use  the  elephant  as  the  symbol  of 
wisdom  and  prudence  and  sagacity,  as  others 
worship  the  serpent  as  the  symbol  of  cunning, 
and  the  sun  as  the  symbol  of  power.  Ganesh, 
or  Ganesha,  as  we  generally  call  him,  has  his 
great  festivals,  like  the  other  gods.  There  is 
one  festival,  up  in  northern  India,  so  I  have 
read,  where  they  place  Ganesh  upon  a  boat,  and, 
accompanied  with  other  boats  containing  priests 
and  musicians,  they  row  up  and  down  the 
Ganges.  The  crowds  that  line  the  shore  make 
the  air  to  resound  with  their  shouts  and  songs.'' 

Passing  Hindus  stopped,  even  while  the  vis- 
itors tarried,  and  mumbled  over  prayers  to 
Granesha. 


The  Ansoiw. 


A  WAYSIDE  IDOI^ 


Page  216. 


-^V^  OF  THE        ^ 

UNIVERSITY 


FROM  RANGOON  TO  MADRAS.     217 

Guntoor  was  reached  soon,  and  the  party  were 


OVJOODS  BEFOBK  THK  HINDU  TEMPLE. 

made  quite  at  home  in  Mr.  NewhokVs  quarters. 
On  Mr.  Newhold^s  suggestion  that  Guntoor  was 


218      THE  ANSONS   IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

a  remarkably  healthy  town,  Mr.  Anson  con- 
cluded to  stay  here  during  the  three  days  that 
must  elapse  before  the  steamer  would  leave  for 
Masulipatam.  There  were  no  temples  of  any 
note  in  the  vicinity  of  Guntoor.  A  single  trip 
was  made  to  the  hills,  a  short  distance  back  of 
the  town,  to  visit  the  cave  temples.  Before  the 
entrance  of  the  chief  temple  stood  a  pair  of 
mystic  horses,  with  their  grooms,  the  whole  be- 
ing the  guardians  of  the  place.  These  cave 
temples  were  at  one  time  Buddhist  places  of 
worship;  but  long  since  they  were  converted 
into  Hindu  temples,  and  the  images  of  Buddha 
altered  into  Hindu  gods. 

In  the  pleasant  and  cheerful  home  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Newhold,  the  days  passed  swiftly  away. 
The  little,  one-storied  bungalow,  with  its  simple 
furniture,  seemed  a  little  paradise,  owing  to  the 
warm  hospitality,  and  the  quiet  yet  sincere  piety 
of  the  home-keepers.  There  were  but  few  serv- 
ants about. 

"This   is   one   reason,"   said   Mrs.  Newhold, 


FROM  RANGOON  TO  MADRAS.      219 

"why  we  prefer  so  small  and  slightly  furnished 
a  bungalow,  that  we  need  fewer  servants.  In 
India,  a  servant  can  do  only  one  thing.  If  you 
see  some  dirt  on  the  floor,  and  tell  a  chamber- 
maid to  brush  it  up,  she  cannot  do  it,  but  will 
tell  the  head-servant  to  send  the  sweeper  to 
brush  up  the  dirt.  If  you  take  a  bath,  you 
must  have  one  servant  to  fill  the  tub  and  another 
to  empty  it.  The  more  you  multiply  your  con- 
veniences, the  more  you  must  increase  the  num- 
ber of  servants.'' 

Bessie  was  particularly  delighted  with  one  of 
the  Hindu  women,  who,  on  becoming  a  Chris- 
tian, took  up  her  residence  on  the  compound. 
She  had  learned  a  little  of  the  English  language, 
and  seemed  to  take  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  in 
trying  to  talk  with  Bessie.  Her  expressions  of 
Christian  joy,  and  her  delight  in  the  Scriptures, 
touclied  the  little  American  girl's  heart. 

Mr.  Newhold  accompanied  the  Ansons  across 
the  Godavery  River,  and  saw  them  safe  in  Ma- 
sulipatam.      Before  returning,  he  secured  as  a 


220      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

guide  for  Mr.  Anson,  an  Eurasian,  a  man  whose 
father  was  an  Englishman,  and  whose  mother 
was  a  Hindu.  This  Eurasian,  John  Christian 
by  name,  was  to  take  the  entire  charge  of  Mr. 
Anson  and  Bertie,  and  to  accompany  them  to 
Calcutta. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

JUGGERNAVT  AND  KALI. 

rriHE  British  India  Steam  Navigation  Com- 
pany's steamer  was  very  nearly  on  time 
at  Masulipatam,  and  as  the  Ansons  and  Mr. 
Newhold  reached  the  head  of  the  gangway, 
they  saw  the  bright,  round  face  of  Miss  Bristow 
shining  upon  them. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you  once  more.  Are  you 
better  or  worse  than  when  we  left  you  at 
Madras?  I  mean,  do  you  feel  stronger?  We 
shall  take  good  care  of  Mrs.  Anson,  when  we 
get  her  in  our  Mission  Home  in  Calcutta.  I 
am  planning  to  take  her  with  me  in  some  of  my 
visits  to  the  zenanas — where  we  met  the  Hindu 
women,  you  know.  If  she  is  quick  at  em- 
broidery, we  shall  give  her  a  chance  to  do 
some   mission    work,  in   trj^ing   to   teach   some 

of  our  Hindu  pupils  some  new  stitehes." 

221 


222      THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"Won't  that  be  splendid,  mamma?  I  can 
help  a  little  too ;  can't  I  ?"  asked  Bessie. 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  replied  Miss  Bristow ;  "  we  are 
glad  to  get  all  the  help  we  can.  I  hope  that 
Mr.  Anson  will  not  hurry  to  get  to  Calcutta, 
for  we  should  like  to  keep  you  a  long  time  to 
ourselves." 

After  a  little,  when  Mr.  Anson  was  walking 
the  deck  with  Miss  Bristow,  he  communicated 
to  her  his  plans  until  reaching  Calcutta. 

"We  are  going  to  continue  on  the  road  run- 
ning along  the  bay,  through  Ganjam,  Puri — 
where  the  temples  of  Jagannath,  or  Juggernaut, 
are,  and  where  we  shall  stay  several  days — and 
then  by  Katak  and  Midnapur  to  Calcutta.  If 
Mrs.  Anson  should  become  ill,  will  you  please 
send  me  word  by  special  messenger  to  one  of 
these  places,  and  I  will  hurry  on?" 

"Certainly,  if  you  wish  it;  but  I  hope  that 
she  will  not  need  your  presence,"  said  Miss  Bris- 
tow in  assent. 

"We  shall  not,  but  I  shall  rest  more  easy  if 


JUGGERNAUT  AND   KALI.  223 

I  know  that,  if  I  do  not  hear  to  the  contrary, 
she  is  not  ill.  You  are  indeed  wonderfully  kind 
to  us  strangers.  God  bless  you  for  it!"  said 
Mr.  Anson. 

"We  are  expecting  to  'entertain  angels,' 
though  not  altogether  'unawares.'  You  may 
rest  easy  about  Mrs.  Anson,  for  we  will  give 
her  the  best  care  possible,  should  she  need  it. 
By  the  way,  I  have  a  letter  which  was  brought 
to  Madras  just  after  you  left,  addressed  in  the 
care  of  one  of  your  missionari^.  He  asked 
me  to  bring  it  to  you  when  we  should  meet 
you  here." 

"Oh,  this  is  for  my  son,  and  not  for  me.  I 
received  several  letters  from  home,  and  I  could 
not  imagine  from  whom  this  could  come.  I 
will  hand  it  to  Bertie.  Here,  Bertie,  is  a 
letter  for  you." 

"A  Garfield  five  cent  stamp!  Then  it  is 
from  America,"  said  Bertie;  "and  from  Phila- 
delphia. I  do  not  know  that  I  am  acquainted 
with  any  one  there.*' 


224      THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"  Open  it  and  see/'  suggested  Mr.  Anson. 
Bertie  did  so  and  read : 

"Philadelphia,  Nov.  27,  I884. 

"Mk.  Albeet  a.  Anson. 

"Dear  Sir: — You  will  pardon  me,  or  I 
ought  to  say,  us — for  I  am  writing  for  othera 
— ^for  trespassing  upon  your  good  nature.  Our 
teacher  happened  to  see  in  one  of  the  Chicago 
papers  that  your  family  were  going  around  the 
world.  She  met  your  father  at  a  Sunday-school 
Convention  several  years  ago.  We  have  a  Mis- 
sion Band,  who  are  making  a  ^stay  at  home' 
tour  in  mission  lands.  We  are  reading  and 
studying  about  the  temples  and  the  mission 
work  in  Asia.  When  we  left  China,  we  hap- 
pened to  hear  of  you,  and  our  teacher  suggested 
to  us  to  write  to  you,  so  that  the  letter  would 
reach  you  at  Madras,  and  ask  you  to  tell  us 
something  about  the  Juggernaut  Temple  at 
Puri.  We  will  read  your  letter  to  our  Band, 
and  we  shall  be  very  glad  to  get  information 
from  one  who  has  seen  that  of  which  he  writes. 


JUGGERNAUT  AND  KALI.  225 

Our  Band  has  made  imaginary  journeys  in 
Japan  and  China,  and  are  now  in  Burraah,  and 
we  shall  reach  India  just  about  the  time  your 
letter  reaches  us.  It  is  because  we  are  so  much 
interested  in  our  plan  of  study — and  we  have 
such  a  good  leader  to  help  us  in  it — that  we 
have  asked  this  great  favor  of  you. 
"Yours  truly, 

"Eugene  R.  Copeland.'' 

"  Well,  I  think  that  I  can  do  that  much  for 
them,''  thought  Bertie. 

Bidding  good-bye  to  each  other,  the  family 
separated,  and  soon  the  Masula  boats  bore  Mr. 
Newhold,  Mr.  Anson,  and  Bertie  ashore.  John 
Christian  met  them  as  they  landed,  and  took 
Mr.  Anson  and  Bertie  under  his  care  forth- 
with. From  Masulipatam  to  Puri  the  journey 
was  uneventful.  Many  interesting  temples  and 
shrines  were  to  be  seen.  But  in  Mr.  Anson's 
mind,  in  spite  of  his  eiforts  to  the  contrary, 
there    was    an    uneasiness    about    Mrs.    Anson 

until    he    reached    Puri.      When    he  came  to 
p 


226      THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

that  city,  he  sent  John  Christian  to  the  col- 
lector's house — wliere  the  messenger  was  to 
have  been  sent — to  see  if  any  word  had  come 
from  Miss  Bristow.  Finding  none,  he  was 
considerably  relieved,  and  went  to  examining, 
with  interest,  the  Juggernaut  temples.  One 
afternoon,  when  somewhat  wearied  with  sight- 
seeing, while  his  father  lay  stretched  out  under 
a  pankha,  or  punkah^  a  swinging  fan,  Bertie 
began  his  letter  to  the  young  man  in  Phila- 
delphia. In  but  a  few  days  it  would  be  Christ- 
mas time,  and  Christmas  thoughts  had  been 
running  througli  Bertie's  head  all  day : 

"PuRi,  December  SS,  I884. 

"  Mr.  Eugene  R.  Copeland, 

"Dear  Sir: — Your  letter  was  brought  to 
me  just  before  we  started  for  this  place,  where 
are  the  Juggernaut  temples,  of  which  you 
wrote.  I  write  the  answer  under  the  sliadow 
of  the  temples.  Do  not  think  that  I  found 
out  all  that  I  write,  myself;  my  father  and 
our   Eurasian   guide   helped   me   in   getting   to 


JUGGERNAUT   AND   KALI. 


227 


know   about   the   temple.     We  came  here   two 
days  ago,  and  shall  stay  several  days   more. 
"I  think  that  your  plan  of  study  must  be 


TEMI'l.E  OK   JUCiOEUNAUT  AT   Pl'IU 


a  very  interesting  way  of  getting  information, 
and  lx.*tter  than  just  writing  essays  and  reading 
pieces  from  missionary  books. 


228      THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"Papa  suggests  that  I  had  better  ask  your 
indulgence  before  I  begin,  because  my  letter 
will  have  to  be  pretty  long  to  tell  you  about 
the  worship  of  Juggernaut  and  his  temples. 
We  have  seen  other  temples  and  shrines  be- 
longing to  his  worship,  but  nothing  so  large 
as  these  at  Puri. 

"Juggernaut  is  a  celebrated  god.  He  is 
called  the  "  Lord  of  the  World."  His  images 
are  as  ugly  as  you  can  imagine.  Generally, 
they  are  made  of  wood;  in  some  temples 
placed  three  together,  one  of  blue,  one  of 
white,  and  one  of  yellow.  Juggernaut  has 
many  temples ;  the  one  at  Puri,  on  the  western 
shore  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  being  the  largest, 
and  esteemed  the  most  holy.  The  pagoda  stands 
at  the  end  of  the  principal  street  of  the  city, 
which  is  very  wide,  and  lined  with  dwellings 
for  the  priests,  small  shrines,  and  other  sacred 
buildings.  The  wall  that  surrounds  the  temple 
is  twenty-one  feet  high,  and  forms  an  enclosure 
six  hundred  and  fifty  feet  each  side.     The  prin- 


JUGGERNAUT  AND   KALI.  229 

cipal  building  rises  to  the  height  of  one  hundred 
and  eighty-four  feet.  The  main  gateway  is 
crowded  with  Fakirs,  or  devotees  — '  cranks/ 
we  should  call  them.  On  each  side  of  the 
entrance  is  a  mammoth  lion.  Just  before  us, 
as  we  enter,  is  an  image  of  the  monkey-god, 
Hanuman. 

"The  temple  is  dedicated  to  Krishna,  or 
Juggernaut  —  sometimes  written  Jagan-uath  — 
and  his  companions,  Siva  and  Sathadra.  The 
idols  of  each  are  rude,  hideous  looking  sculj^ 
tured  blocks  of  wood,  each  about  six  feet  high. 
The  faces  of  these  idols  are  hideous.  Krishna 
is  painted  dark  blue,  Siva  white,  and  Sathadra 
yellow.  Before  the  altar  an  image  of  the  hawk- 
god,  Grarounda,  is  placed.  Every  day,  we  are 
told,  the  idols  are  feasted.  Their  food  consists 
of  four  hundred  and  ten  pounds  of  rice,  two 
hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  of  flour,  three 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  butter,  one  hundred 
and  sixty-seven  pounds  of  treacle,  sixty-five 
pounds  of  vegetables,  one  hundred  and  e'ghty- 


230      THE   ANSONS    IJN  ASIATIC  TE»[PLES. 

six  pounds  of  milk,  twenty-four  pounds  of 
spices,  thirty-four  pounds  of  salt,  and  forty- 
one  pounds  of  oil.  While  the  food  is  being 
placed  before  the  gods,  all  but  a  favored  few 
are  excluded  from  the  temple,  and  the  doors 
are  shut.  There  are  over  twenty  thousand  holy 
men  connected  with  this  temple,  and  we  can 
easily  guess  that  they  help  the  idols  to  get  rid 
of  this  great  mass  of  food;  at  any  rate  it  all 
speedily  disappears.  The  idols,  strange  as  it  , 
may  seem,  are  washed  and  dressed  daily  with 
great  seriousness. 

"On  June  18,  Juggernaut's  great  festival  oc- 
curs. Formerly,  great  multitudes  assembled  at 
this  time  from  every  part  of  the  laud.  Men, 
women,  and  children,  in  crowds,  thronged  to  the 
city  days  in  advance,  and  waited  with  impatience 
for  the  festival  day  to  come.  The  Car  Festival, 
celebrated  at  Puri,  is  usually  attended  by  more 
than  five  hundred  thousand  pilgrims,  nearly  half 
of  whom  are  females.  There  is  great  suffering 
among  these  pilgrims,  and  many  of  them  die  of 


JUGGERNAUT  AND   KALI.  231 

excessive  fatigue,  exposure  to  the  annual  rains, 
and  tlie  want  of  suitable  and  sufficient  food. 
The  plains,  in  many  places,  are  literally  whitened 
with  their  bones,  while  dogs  and  vultures  are 
continually  devouring  the  bodies  of  the  dead. 

"At  the  appointed  time,  each  idol  was  washed, 
dressed  in  silk  and  gold,  and  placed  upon  his 
triumphal  car.  The  car  of  Juggernaut  con- 
sists of  an  elevated  platform,  thirty-four  feet 
square,  supported  by  sixteen  wheels,  each  of 
them  six  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter.  It  is 
covered  with  cloth  of  gold  and  costly  stuffs, 
and  a  Juggernaut  is  placed  under  a  canopy. 
Six  ropes  or  cables,  three  hundred  feet  in  length, 
are  attached  to  the  car,  by  means  of  which  the 
people  draw  it  from  place  to  place.  The  whole 
car  is  covered  with  sculptures  in  the  Hindu  style. 

"Thousands  seize  these  ropes,  as  many  as 
could  get  hold.  In  their  fanatical  frenzy,  they 
crowded  and  shouldered  and  shoved  one  another, 
counting  themselves  happy  if  they  could  only 
lay  a  hand  on  the  ropes.      The  Car  Festival 


232      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

was  the  great  event  of  the  religious  year  of 
the  worshipers  of  Juggernaut.  Its  object  was 
to  convey  Juggernaut  from  the  temple  to  his 
country  house,  a  mile  distant.  When  the  image 
was  placed  in  the  car,  the  multitude  fell  on  their 
knees,  and  bowed  their  foreheads  in  the  dust. 

"As  the  car  began  to  advance,  the  drums  beat 
and  cymbals  clashed,  while  from  its  platform 
the  priests  shouted,  harangued,  and  sang  songs, 
which  were  received  with  applause  by  the  multi- 
tude. And  so  the  dense  mass,  tugging,  sweat- 
ing, singing,  praying,  dragged  the  car  slowly 
along.  Some  were  knocked  down  and  trampled 
upon,  and  some  were  accidentally  crushed  by  the 
ponderous  wheels,  while  a  few,  mostly  those  who 
were  sick  or  in  much  trouble,  sought  death  by 
throwing  themselves  in  the  way  of  the  wheels, 
this  latter  being  encouraged  by  some  of  the 
priests.  The  priests  and  priestesses  chanted 
songs  in  praise  of  the  god,  the  multitudes 
flung  flowers,  and  other  gifts,  about  the  car. 

"Such  was  the  great  Car  Festival  of  Jug- 


JUGGERNAUT  AND   KALI.  233 

gernaut  in  ancient  days.  Of  late  years,  it  has 
lost  much  of  its  popularity,  and,  though  thou- 
sands still  attend  annually,  it  is  now  looked  upon 
more  as  an  annual  fair,  than  a  religious  festival. 
The  devotees  are  not  half  so  zealous  as  formerly, 
and  the  priests  find  almost  no  one  to  drag  the 
car.  No  longer  do  any  self-made  victims  fall 
beneath  its  wheels,  unless  it  be  some  poor,  weak 
wretch,  tired  of  life,  and  desiring  thus  to  com- 
mit suicide. 

"The  English  Government,  and  the  spread 
of  intelh'gence,  and  the  work  of  missionaries, 
all  together,  have  interfered  with  the  worship 
of  Juggernaut. 

"I  hope  that  my  long  letter  will  not  weary 

you.     My  papa  wishes   to  be  remembered  to 

your  teacher,  Mrs.  Kentony;  he  hopes  to  meet 

her  again,  he  says,  when  he  returns  to  America. 

"Yours  truly, 

"A.  A.  Anson." 

That  evening,  while  trying  to  sleep — for  Mr. 
Anson  was  restless,   he  hardly  knew  why — a 


234      THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

talking  was  heard  outside  the  door,  and  in  a 
moment  John  Christian  pushed  his  way  in, 
saying : 

"Master,  here  is  some  one  who  wants  to  see 
you." 

"Well,  I  will  come  right  away." 

Clad  in  his  pajamas,  Mr.  Anson  went  to  the 
door  and  found  a  stout,  swarthy  Hindu  un- 
wrapping a  letter,  which  he  handed,  with  many 
salams,  to  Mr.  Anson. 

"Mem  sahib,  the  missis,  she  sick,"  he  mut- 
tered to  John  Christian. 

It  was  indeed  true;  Miss  Bristow  had  hastily 
written  that  Mrs.  Anson  was  taken  sick.  It 
might  be  only  a  slight  attack  of  the  fever,  or 
it  might  be  more  serious.  She  had  felt  it  her 
duty,  as  she  had  promised,  to  write  Mr.  Anson. 
They  had  good  physicians,  and  everything  would 
be  done  for  Mrs.  Anson  that  could  be  done. 
This  only  partially  relieved  Mr.  Anson's  anxiety. 
When  he  had  dismissed  the  messenger,  having 
paid  him,  he  sat  down  to  think  it  all  over  and 


JUGGERNAUT  AND   KALI.  235 

to  pray  for  the  safety  of  his  loved  wife.  He 
had  not  noticed  John  Christian  sitting  on  the 
floor  near  the  door.  Finally,  John  ventured 
to  say: 

"Master,  may  I  speak?" 

"Yes,  what  is  it,  John?" 

"A  steamer  will  leave  for  Calcutta  to-morrow. 
If  master  will  go  in  it,  he  can  be  in  Calcutta  in 
two  or  three  days  from  now." 

"Can  we?  I  am  glad  you  have  spoken  of  it. 
We  will  go." 

"But,  master,  it  is  hard  to  get  to  the  steamer, 
the  surf  is  so  very  bad." 

"Well,  we  will  venture  it." 

"We  might  get  some  life-belts,  master,  and 
then  it  would  be  safer." 

"Well,  get  two,  John,  for  Bertie  and  me. 
You  can  go  back  to  Guntoor,  though  I  will 
pay  you  just  as  if  you  had  gone  on  to  Calcutta, 
for  you  have  taken  good  care  of  us." 

It  was  well  that  life-belts  had  been  provided, 
for  Bertie  lost  his  hold  when  the  boat  rose  on  an 


236      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

unusually  heavy  wave,  and  was  tossed  into  the 
water.  For  a  moment,  he  struggled,  and  then 
allowed  himself  to  be  borne  up  by  his  belt.  The 
boatmen  soon  fished  him  into  the  boat,  though 
with  considerable  difficulty.  The  steamer  was 
reached  a  few  moments  later,  and  Bertie  soon 
appeared  in  a  borrowed  suit,  while  his  own 
clothes  were  spread  in  the  sun  to  dry. 

When  Calcutta  was  reached,  Mr.  Anson  and 
Bertie  entered  one  of  the  great  crowd  of  gliarries 
that  stood  about  the  wharf,  and  were  quickly 
brought  to  the  Woman's  Mission  Home.  To 
his  great  joy,  Mr.  Anson  found  Mrs.  Anson  in 
an  improved  condition  and  able  to  sit  up.  In  a 
few  days  she  was  able  to  drive  out.  Pleasant 
hours  were  spent  in  the  Botanical  Grardens,  and 
in  riding  on  the  Maidau,  or  the  Esplanade  of 
Calcutta.  From  one  of  the  missionaries'  libra- 
ries. Miss  Bristow  had  borrowed  for  Mrs. 
Anson'*  use,  quite  a  number  of  illustrated 
volumes  on  India  and  its  temples.  In  this 
way,  Mrs.  Anson  sought  to  get  that  informa- 


'V^     OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


JUGGERNAUT  AND   KALI.  237 

tion  which  Mr.  Anson  was  getting  by  actual 
observation.  Her  recollection  of  the  pagodas 
of  Rangoon  and  Maulmain  caused  Mrs.  Anson 
to  feel  a  particular  interest  in  the  Buddhist 
monuments  of  India,  the  land  where  the  Bud- 
dhist religion  was  born.  The  great  topeSy  or 
pagodas,  as  they  might  be  called  elsewhere, 
are  all  in  ruins,  yet  they  give  signs  of  a 
former  magnificence.  One  of  the  greatest  of 
these  Ls  the  Sanchi  Tope.  This  is  a  dome-like 
structure  of  solid  brick  and  stone,  about  sixty 
feet  high.  There  are  entrances  at  all  the  four 
points  of  the  compass.  These  gate-ways  are 
picturesque  objects,  even  in  their  ruins.  In 
the  very  heart  of  the  tope  an  Englishman 
found  small  caskets,  carved  in  precious  marbles, 
containing  pieces  of  burnt  bone  and  ashes,  all 
that  was  left  of  Buddhist  saints  who  lived 
twenty-one  hundred  years  ago.  All  the  topes 
are  monuments  over  Buddhist  relics. 

One  hideous  idol,  which  Bertie  and  his  papa 
were  talcen  to  see,  was  that  of  the  bloody  goddess 


238      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 


IDOL  OF  THE  GODDESS  KALI. 


Kali.  The  missionaries  persuaded,  with  little 
effort,  Mrs.  Anson  and  Bessie  to  refrain  from 
going  to  Kali's  Temple. 


JUGGERNAUT  AND   KALI.  239 

"This  is  a  queer  idol,"  said  Bertie,  to  the 
missionary  wlio  had  accompanied  them  to  the 
temple.  "I  should  think  nobody  would  ever 
care  to  worship  such  a  hideous,  murderous-look- 
ing goddess." 

"On  the  contrary.  Kali  is  a  very  popular 
goddess,  even  though  her  images  are  the  pic- 
tures of  terror.  She  wears  a  head-dress  of 
snakes,  and  a  necklace  consisting  of  a  chain  of 
skulls.  In  her  hand  she  holds  a  murderous- 
looking  knife.  Kali  is  the  wife  of  Siva,  the 
destroyer.  In  September,  a  festival  is  held  in 
her  honor,  called  the  Doorga-pooja.  In  all  of 
Kali's  temples,  her  idols  are  gayly  adorned  with 
flowers,  and  prayers  are  offered  to  her  during 
days  of  dancing  and  singing. 

There  used  to  be  a  sect  of  murderous 
stranglers,  known  as  Thugs,  who  were  es- 
pecially devoted  to  the  worship  of  Kali,  and 
who  performed  their  murderous  work  as  a  re- 
ligious service  to  that  goddess.  The  story  of 
this  people  opens  up  a  chapter  of  the  greatest 


240      THE   ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

cruelty,  going  far  beyond  all  the  ordinary 
records  of  crime.  Yet  it  was  all  done  from 
a  religious  motive,  as  well  as  for  love  of 
plunder.  Strange  that  it  could  be  so !  The 
legend  that  accounts  for  their  origin  is  as 
follows : 

"A  long  while  ago  a  giant  demon  infested 
this  world,  destroying  mankind.  The  goddess 
Kali,  to  save  mankind  from  utter  destruction, 
attacked  this  demon  and  cut  him  down;  but 
from  the  drops  of  blood  that  fell  to  the  ground, 
immediately  there  sprang  up  other  demons — a 
host  of  them.  The  Kali  created  two  men,  to 
whom  she  gave  handkerchiefs,  and  whom  she 
taught  to  strangle  the  demons  without  shedding 
blood.  This  was  done,  lest,  if  their  blood  be 
shed,  more  demons  should  spring  up.  Kali 
intended,  in  this  way,  to  destroy  the  whole 
brood.  When  these  men  had  strangled  all  the 
demons,  she  bade  them  strangle  men  in  the 
same  way,  to  repay  her  for  her  service  to  man- 
kind.    From  these  two  men  the  Thugs  came.'' 


JUGGERNAUT   AND   KALI.  241 

During  all  the  time  the  missionary  was  giving 
this  description  of  Kali  and  the  Thugs,  the  peo- 
ple were  coming  and  going,  bringing  their  of- 
ferings and  presenting  their  prayers.  The  con- 
ception seemed  so  horrible  that  it  was  a  relief  to 
get  into  the  open  air.  Though,  for  many  days, 
Kali  haunted  Bertie  like  a  nightmare. 

The  health  of  Mrs.  Anson  improving,  and 
the  doctor  interposing  no  objection,  preparations 
for  continuing  the  journey  were  made,  and  the 
overland  trip  was  begui^  after  several  weeks  had 
been  spent  in  Calcutta. 


A 


CHAPTER  XY. 

0  VEULAND  Tim 0  UGH  ISDIA. 

N  extensive  railway  journey  in  the  land  of 
elephants'  howdahs,  of  huWock-gharries, 
of  palanquins,  of  masula  boats,  was  indeed  a 
novelty.  Since  leaving  Japan's  short  railroads, 
none  had  been  encountered  until  now.  There 
liappened  to  be  no  one  else  in  the  compartment 
of  the  car  that  the  Ansons  occupied.  The  cars 
were  unlike  those  in  America,  in  that  each  car 
was  divided  up  into  rooms.  Very  soon  after 
starting,  Bertie  found  that  there  was  a  sort  of 
shelf,  or  berth,  that  could  be  lowered  over  the 
wide,  cushioned  seats  on  either  side  of  the  com- 
partment. They  had  started  in  the  evening,  by 
Miss  Bristow's  advice,  so  that  Mrs.  Anson  might 
not  become  over-wearied.  So  the  discovery  of 
the   bunks  was   quite  opportune.     Anticipating 

that  the  cold  would  be   greater  in  traveling  at 
243 


OVERLAND   THROUGH   INDIA.  243 

night,  Mr.  Auson  had  provided  four  thick 
traveling  rugs.  He  and  Bertie  mounted  to 
the  upper  berths,  and  Mrs.  Anson  and  Bessie 
slept  on  the  sofas.  For  several  hours  they  kept 
up  a  conversation,  but  late  in  the  evening  they 
slept  quietly.  They  took  their  breakfast  at 
Mokamah,  where  there  was  a  delay  of  an  hour 
or  so.  At  Dinapur  there  was  another  oppor- 
tunity of  getting  refreshments.  The  country 
along  the  railroad  was  low  and  flat,  with  mud- 
huts  rising  here  and  there.  Everywhere  the 
natives  were  getting  ready  their  breakfast  of 
plain  boiled  rice,  the  one  great  article  of  food 
in  Asia.  Often  the  railroad  wound  along  the 
banks  of  the  Ganges  River.  Many  strangely 
sha|)ed  boats  were  moving  to  and  fro.  Oc- 
casionally, a  crocodile  could  be  seen,  on  the 
outlook  for  his  morning  meal. 

Benares,  the  Holy  City  of  India,  was  to  be 
the  first  stopping  point.  At  Mogul  Serai,  where 
they  changed  cars,  Mr.  Anson  sent  a  dispatch 
— as  he  had  been  advised  to  do — to  secure  two 


244      THE   ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

rooms  in  the  best  hotel  of  Benares,  and  that  a 
carriage  might  meet  them.  Thus  they  experi- 
enced no  difficulty  in  getting  through  the  crowd 
of  porters  thronging  the  neighborhood  of  the 
station.  They  crossed  the  river  on  the  bridge 
of  boats,  and  soon  the  carriage  was  climbing 
the  cliff  upon  which  Benares  is  built.  The 
Ghats,  or  flights  of  steps,  leading  up  to  tlie 
temples,  or  sacred  rest-houses  for  pious  pil- 
grims, rose  from  the  river's  edge  to  the  cliff 
above. 

That  same  afternoon,  under  the  guidance  of  a 
servant  from  the  hotel,  the  Ansons  took  a  ride 
upon  the  Kiver  Ganges  in  a  steam-launch.  This 
gave  the  best  opportunity  for  a  first  view  of  the 
city,  and  also  afforded  many  chances  of  seeing 
the  scenes  characteristic  of  the  Holy  City  and 
the  Sacred  River.  On  the  way  they  visited  the 
Durga  Temple,  often  called  the  Monkey  Temple, 
because  of  the  myriads  of  monkeys  that  live 
in  the  gigantic  trees  near  it. 

The  steam-launch  ascended  the  river  to  the 


OVERLAND  THROUGH   INDIA. 


245 


bridge  of  boats,  and  then,  returning,  stopped  at 
#  the  will  of  the  passengers,  giving  them  the  priv- 
ilege of  climbing  the  Ghats  and  viewing  the 
temples.  From  sunrise,  daily,  thousands  of  pil- 
grims come  to  bathe  in  the  Ganges.  The  dy- 
ing are  brought  there, 
and  have  their  mouths 
stopped  with  the  sacred 


P&AYUiO  BY  THE  BIVEB  GA170KS. 


mud.  Their  dead  bodies  are  burned  by  the 
side  of  the  river,  and  their  ashes  flung  into  its 
current.  Here  the  faithful  come  to  pray.  The 
crocodiles  occasionally  catch  some  unwary  bather 
and  devour  him. 


246      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASTATIC   TEMPLES. 

Benares  seemed  to  be,  as  Bertie  quoted  it  from 
his  Testament,  "a  city  wholly  given  to  idola- 
try." Devotees,  pilgrims,  and  priests  thronged 
the  city.  Temples  were  far  more  numerous  than 
in  any  other  city  that  they  had  seen,  and  it  was 
easier  to  find  an  idol  than  a  man,  as  was  said  of 
Athens  of  old  time.  Everywhere,  the  people 
made  way  to  let  the  foreigners  pass,  not — as  Ber- 
tie at  iirst  supposed — out  of  respect,  but  to  avoid 
pollution. 

"Where  are  we  going  next?"  asked  Bertie. 

"We  shall  stop  at  Lucknow  and  Cawnpore, 
where  we  shall  see  the  scenes  of  the  great  Sepoy 
mutiny ;  then  we  shall  go  on  to  Agra,  and  visit 
the  great  mausoleum,  the  beautiful  monument  to 
a  loved  wife,  the  Taj  Mahal." 

"What  is  the  Taj  Mahal?"  asked  Mrs.  Anson. 

"  It  is  the  sort  of  monument  I  should  like  to 
build,  to  show  the  world  the  depth  of  a  hus- 
band's love  for  his  wife.  It  is  a  beautiful 
building  of  marble,  not  very  large,  but  wonder- 
fully well  built.     I  will  tell  you  the  story  : 


OVERLAND   THROUGH   INDIA.  247 

"A  Moliammedan  ruler  of  India,  Shah  Jehau, 
was  married  in  1615  to  Princess  Mumtaz-i-^Ia- 
hal.  She  died  in  1629.  The  Mogul  determined 
to  build  the  most  magnificent  monument  that 
man  could  conceive  of.  For  twenty-two  years, 
twenty  thousand  workmen  were  engaged  in  erect- 
ing the  building.  It  cost  more  than  fifteen  mil- 
lions of  dollars  to  build  it.  It  has  been  called 
the  jewel  of  India.  An  American  traveler 
wrote,  as  I  noted  it  in  a  fly-leaf  in  my  guide- 
book here:  'As  you  approach  it,  it  is  not  ex- 
posed abruptly  to  view,  but  is  surrounded  by  a 
garden.  You  enter  under  a  lofty  gateway,  and 
before  you  is  an  avenue  of  cypresses,  a  third  of 
a  mile  long,  whose  dark  foliage  is  a  setting  for  a 
form  of  dazzling  whiteness  at  the  end.  That  is 
the  Taj.  It  stands,  not  on  the  level  of  your 
eye,  but  on  a  double  terrace;  the  first,  of  red 
sandstone,  twenty  feet  high,  and  one  thousand 
feet  broad,  at  the  extremities  of  which  stand 
two  mosques,  of  the  same  dark  stone,  facing 
each  other.     Midway  between,  rises  the  second 


248      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

terrace,  of  marble,  fifteen  feet  high,  and  three 
hundred  feet  square,  on  the  corners  of  which 
stand  four  marble  minarets.  In  the  centre  of 
all,  thus  "reared  in  air,"  stands  the  Taj.  It  is 
built  of  marble — no  other  material  than  this,  of 
pure  and  stainless  white,  was  fit  for  a  purpose  so 
sacred.  It  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  square — 
or,  rather,  it  is  eight-sided,  since  the  corners  are 
truncated — and  surmounted  hy  a  dome,  which 
rises  nearly  two  hundred  feet  above  the  pave- 
ment below.' 

"But  we  shall  see  it  for  ourselves,  and  Ave  are 
losing  some  of  this  pretty  scenery  through  which 
we  are  passing." 

After  a  few  days  at  each  of  the  places  of  which 
Mr.  Anson  had  spoken,  and  when  their  fondest 
expectations  had  been  far  surpassed,  they  con- 
tinued on  their  journey  to  Delhi.  The  Ansons, 
when  they  reached  Delhi,  took  rooms  at  the 
Northbrooke  Hotel,  kept  by  a  European.  All 
of  the  country  hereabouts  is  full  of  interesting 
objects  connected  with  the  occupation  of  India 


OVERLAND  THROUGH   INDIA.  249 

l)y  the  English.  Mr.  Anson  felt  that,  in  the 
uncei-tainty  of  Mrs.  Anson's  health,  it  would  be 
better  to  devote  their  attention  chiefly  to  the 
temples  and  mission  work  of  the  cities  where 
they  stopped,  and  to  give  but  a  passing  glance 
at  historic  sites. 

"What  is  that  great  building  yonder?"  asked 
Bertie,  one  morning,  as  they  passed  out  of  the 
Chandni-Chowk,  the  bazar  street  of  Delhi. 

"It  looks  like  a  temple,  yet  it  is  unlike  a 
Hindu  temple  in  its  style,"  answered  his  father. 

"  We  will  go  near  to  it  and  find  out."  Look- 
ing through  an  opera-glass,  Mr.  Anson  could 
make  out  certain  strange  characters  carved  on 
the  sides  of  the  entrance.  "I  do  not  know 
what  that  is;   these  are  not  Hindu  letters." 

"Let  me  see,  if  you  please,  papa,"  asked 
Bertie. 

"Certainly,  my  son;  but  I  think  that  you 
cannot  read  them  either." 

Bertie  looked  through  the  glass  at  them,  and 
after  a  moment's  thought,  said : 


250      THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"I  remember  seeing  sometliing  like  them  in 
your  ^Arabian  Nights  Entertainment/  papa.'^ 
"Let  me  see  again,  my  son.     Yes,  you  are 


GRAND  MOSQUE  OF  DELHI. 


right;    they   are   Mohammedan    letters.      This 

must   be   a   Mohammedan   Mosque.      We   had 

better  go  back  to  the  hotel  and  get  a  guide.'* 

It  was  the  Jam'i  Masjid,  the  Great  Mosque, 


OVERLAND   THROUGH   INDIA.  251 

one  of  the  finest  in  all  India,  before  which  they 
had  been  standing.  With  the  guide  they  re- 
turned and  climbed  up  the  forty  steps — as  Bertie 
counted  them — that  led  to  the  magnificent  gate- 
way. The  gates  were  overlaid  with  plates  of 
brass.  Passing  through  the  gateway,  they  stood 
Avithin  a  court  about  three  hundred  feet  square. 
In  the  centre  is  a  marble  fountain  and  basin. 
Climbing  to  the  top  of  one  of  the  minarets  with 
the  guide,  Bertie  lookal  down  upon  the  rest 
from  the  dizzy  height,  and  had  a  most  extensive 
view  of  Delhi  and  all  the  surrounding  country. 
When  he  returned,  one  of  the  Moslem  priests 
took  them  through  the  mosque.  After  a  little 
talk  with  the  guide,  the  priest  took  them  to  one 
side,  and  slowly  and  reverently  unlocked  the 
door  of  a  little  closet  cut  into  the  solid  marble. 
He  opened  a  casket  with  great  care,  and  showed 
to  the  visitors — a  single  hair  from  Mohammed's 
beard.  To  see  only  a  hair  sadly  disappointed 
Bertie.  All  the  show  of  mystery  and  caution 
had  led  him  to  expect  some  great  thing. 


252      THE    A.NSOXS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"Pshaw!  only  a  hair!  Who  knows  if  it  is 
really  Mohammed's?"  he  exclaimed. 

"This  astonishes  me"  said  Mr.  Anson  to  his 
wife,  "  that  these  Mohammedans  should  indulge 
in  relic-worship,  when  Mohammed  was  so  fierce 
a  hater  of  idols  and  relics." 

The  building  is  of  marble  and  red  sandstone. 

On  another  day,  an  excursion  was  made  to  the 
gigantic  Kuttub  Minar,  a  sort  of  tower  or  spire 
rising  right  out  of  the  ground  to  a  height  of  two 
hundred  and  forty  feet.  Standing  in  the  midst 
of  a  vast  plain,  it  seems  much  higher.  It  is 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence at  the  base,  and  about  twenty-seven  feet  at 
the  top.  Bands  of  inscriptions  are  carved  in  its 
sides  of  red  sandstone,  and  it  is,  in  all  respects, 
a  beautiful  minaret.  Its  use,  like  that  of  all 
other  minarets,  probably,  was  for  the  Moslem 
priests  to  call  the  people  to  prayer. 

From  Delhi,  the  Ansons  proceeded  to  Alla- 
habad, and  thence,  without  any  delay,  to  Bom- 
bay.    Just  such  scenes  as  one  may  see  in  cross- 


(254) 


THE  FAKIR  OP  THE  LONG   HAIR. 


OVERLAND  THROUGH   INDIA.  255 

ing  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  in  Pennsylvania, 
were  to  be  seen  from  the  car  windows,  after 
leaving  Jubbiilpur,  where  a  change  of  cars  had 
been  made.  Notwithstanding  the  beautiful  and 
romantic  scenery,  it  was  a  pleasure  to  be  settled 
in  the  hotel  at  Bombay.  In  a  week  or  ten  days 
the  Ansons  would  bid  farewell  to  India,  and 
these  I'dst  days  must  be  crowded  with  sight- 
seeing. 

Bombay  was  a  city  of  temples.  Holy  men 
of  all  sorts  seemed  to  abound.  One  order  of 
priests,  so  Bertie  learned,  seemed  bent  on  trying 
to  see  how  many  curious  ways  of  self-torture 
they  could  devise.  These  were  the  Fakirs. 
One  Fakir  had  a  huge  iron  collar  forged 
about  his  neck;  another,  whose  long  hair,  as 
Bertie  suggested,  would  furnish  a  safe  hiding- 
place  for  the  i^estiferous  insect  that  the  man 
seemed  to  be  trying  to  find  as  the  Ansons  passed 
him,  had  iron  bands  on  his  arms  and  ankles; 
another  had  held  his  arms  immovably  fixed 
above  his  head,  while  pious  (?)  people  fed  him. 


256      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

These  men  hope  in  this  way  to  obtain  favor 
with  the  gods,  and  the  people  rather  respect 
and   fear   them,   on  account  of   their   supposed 


DYING  BBAHMIN  AND  SACRED  COW. 


holiness.     Truly  in  Indian  minds,  "cleanliness 
is"  not  "akin  to  godliness." 


OVERLAND  THROUGH  INDIA.  257 

"WHy,  mamma,  look  at  that  man  and  the 
others  standing  around  him.  See,  they  are 
trying  to  keep  his  hand  on  the  cow's  tail," 
said  Bessie,  as  they  stepped  within  a  temple, 
in  the  very  heart  of  Bombay. 

"He  must  be  dying,"  said  Mr.  Anson;  "he 
looks  like  it." 

"  Do  they  think  that  taking  hold  of  the  cow's 
tail  will  make  him  well?"  asked  Bertie. 

"I  do  not  know.  We  shall  have  to  ask 
somelxxly  to  tell  us.  I  wonder  if  any  of  these 
men  can  speak  English.  A  great  many  of  the 
Hindus  of  Bombay  can,  I  know.  I  will  ask 
that  one  standing  alone."  Then  Mr.  Anson 
drew  near  a  poorly-clad,  but  intelligent  looking 
Hindu. 

"Do  you  speak  English  ?" 

"Yes,  master,  a  leetle.  I  go  Christian  school 
sometime.     I  merchant's  errand-boy." 

"Can  you  tell  me  what  that  means?" — 
pointing   to   the  sick   man   and   the  cow. 

"Yes,  he  sick  man;  he  Bralirain,  high  caste 

B 


258      THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

man.  He  dying.  That  cow,  holy  cow.  He 
keep  hold  of  cow  tail,  will  take  him  into — 
what  you  say? "  and  he   pointed   upward. 

"  Heaven  ?  '  added  Mr.  Anson. 

"Yes,  heaven.     I  no  believe  that." 

"No,  no,"  said  Mr.  Anson;  "you  believe 
in  Jesus  Christ;  you  try  to  please  him;  then 
you  go  to  heaven.  I  thank  you  for  telling 
me  what  that  means,"  as  he  slipped  some  pice 
— ^the  Indian  coin — into  the  man's  hand. 

On  rejoining  the  group  he  explained  it  all  to 
them. 

"Isn't  it  pitiable!  such  superstition!"  re- 
marked Mi*s.  Anson;  "and  they  might  know 
better,  if  they  would  but  listen  to  the  mis- 
sionaries." 

"Well,  good-bye,  India!"  exclaimed  Bertie, 
as,  a  day  later,  the  steamer  bore  them  out  of 
the  harbor. 

"God  bring  you  light!"  said  Mr.  Anson. 

It  was  a  bright  moonlight  evening,  and,  as 


OVERLAND  THROUGH   INDIA.  259 

if  in  confirmation  of  his  wish,  he  saw  a  sight 
in  the  sky,  whither  his  eye  had  been  turned. 
The  floating  clouds  had  seemingly  massed  them- 
selves until  they  had  assumed  the  shape  of 
India,  the  edge  clearly  marked  all  the  way 
from  Arabia  around  by  Ceylon,  and  up  to  Ben- 
gal, and  then  rounding  again  down  to  Burmah. 
As  he  looked,  the  edge  alone  was  marked  with 
a  line  of  light.  It  seemed  like  a  saying,  "So 
is  India  lighted,  but  upon  its  edge,  as  it  were." 
Just  then,  the  full  moon  sailed  out  from  behind 
the  clouds,  and  threw  its  radiance  full  on  the 
face  of  the  cloud,  and  lo,  India  was  bright  with 
light,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  clouds. 

"So  may  it   be !   so  shall   it   be!"    thought 
Mr.  Anson.     Tliat  vision  he  never  forgot. 


CHAPTER  Xyi. 

IN^  MOSLEM  LANDS. 

rriHERE  were  so  many  English  passengers  on 
the  steamer  who  were  going  home,  that  a 
little  tinge  of  home-longing  touched  the  hearts 
of  the  other  passengers.  The  voyage  was  a  very 
quiet  one.  The  heat  was  intense,  so  that  the 
passengers  spent  most  of  the  days  and  nights  on 
deck ;  it  seemed  to  be  getting  yet  more  uncom- 
fortable as  they  approached  the  coast  of  Arabia 
and  the  entrance  to  the  Red  Sea.  Aden  is  about 
ninety  miles  from  the  Straits  of  Bab-el  Mandeb, 
the  beginning  of  the  Red  Sea.  When  the  vessel 
cast  her  anchor,  scores  of  little  boats,  each  with 
one  or  two  Somali  boys,  paddled  about  the  ship, 
crying,  "Overboard!  overboard!" 

"What  do  they  mean,  papa?"  asked  Bertie. 

"I  do  not  know;  let  us  wait  and  see." 

Just  then  an  Englishman  flung  a  small  coin 

260 


IN   MOSLEM   LANDS.  261 

into  the  water;  immediately  each  boat  lost  one 
boy,  as  they  dived  into  the  water  after  the 
money.  At  this  moment,  a  fellow  passenger 
said: 

"The  captain  has  posted  the  notice  of  sail- 
ing." 

At  once,  most  of  the  passengers  turned  to  the 
stairway  leading  to  the  dining-hall,  and  then  got 
themselves  in  readiness  to  go  ashore,  to  escape 
from  the  heat  aboard  ship,  and  from  the  dust 
stirred  up  while  the  steamer  took  in  coal.  They 
found  Aden  to  be  the  Gibraltar  of  Asia.  Water 
is  sold  in  Aden,  because  it  is  so  precious;  for 
there  are  no  wells,  or  springs,  or  rivers. 

Leaving  Aden,  and  entering  the  straits,  the 
steamer  was  upon  the  Red  Sea.  It  seemed  to 
Bertie  that  they  were  entering  upon  a  sacred 
part  of  the  earth. 

"Why  do  they  call  this  the  Bed  Sea?"  asked 
Bessie.     "  The  water  is  not  red." 

"No,"  said  Mr.  Anson;  "but  the  hills  around 
are  red,  and  the  weeds  yonder  are  red." 


262      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

If  it  was  hot  in  India,  it  was  hotter  on  the 
Indian  Ocean,  and  hottest  on  the  Red  Sea.  To 
Mrs.  Anson,  the  heat  was  so  oppressive  that  it 
seemed  as  if  she  must  die.  The  strong  wind 
that  blew  from  the  south  was  almost  scorching. 
But  when  about  one-third  the  way  through  the 
Red  Sea,  they  met  the  fresh  breeze  from  the 
north,  which  is  usually  blowing  strongly,  and  it 
greatly  revived  all  the  weak  passengers.  At  the 
first,  the  thermometer  in  the  cabin  was  up  to 
100°,  but  the  third  day  it  became  so  cool  that 
the  passengers  shivered  in  their  overcoats. 

In  passing  Jeddah,  the  port  of  Mecca,  Mr. 
Anson  took  occasion  to  tell  the  story  of  Moham- 
med, the  Arabian  camel-driver,  who  founded  a 
great  religion.  Mohammedanism  overran  India, 
though  it  has  since  almost  entirely  lost  its  power 
in  that  country;  it  conquered,  also,  Arabia, 
IN^orthern  Africa,  including  Egypt;  and  crossed 
into  Spain,  where  the  Moors  were  finally  con- 
quered by  the  Spanish  Christians ;  and  it  over- 
ran Turkey. 


IN  MOSLEM   LANDS.  263 

"  In  Mecca,  Mohanimed's  birthplace,"  contin- 
ued Mr.  Anson,  "is  the  'Caaba,'  or  shrine,  with 
the  famous  'Black  Stone,'  which  the  Moslems, 
or  Mohammedans,  or  Mussulmans,  as  they  are 
variously  called,  believe  to  have  been  brought 
from  heaven  by  angels.  Mecca  is  seventy  miles 
from  Jeddah,  and  thousands  of  Moslems  make 
pilgrimages  to  Mecca  every  year." 

"Can  we  go  there?"  asked  Bertie. 

"No,  indeed;  any  foreigner  caught  entering 
the  city  would  certainly  be  stoned  to  death." 

In  entering  the  Gulf  of  Suez,  one  arm  of  the 
Red  Sea,  Mr.  Anson  pointed  out  to  his  family 
Mt.  Sinai.  Through  the  captain's  glass,  they 
could  see  but  few  signs  of  vegetation,  and  it 
seemed,  indeed,  a  "wilderness." 

"Now  we  shall  soon  cross  over  the  spot — 
though  no  one  knows  to  a  certainty  just  where 
it  js — where  the  Children  of  Israel,  under  Moses, 
crossed  the  Red  Sea,"  said  Mr.  Anson. 

A  few  hours  later,  the  steamer  cast  anchor 
some  distance  from  the  shore,  just  opposite  Suez. 


264      THE  ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

Suez  is  a  decayed- looking,  ruinous  to^vn,  having 
about  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants.  It  owes  all  of 
its  importance  to  the  Suez  Canal.  There  were 
several  steamers  anchored  off  Suez,  awaiting 
their  turn  to  enter  the  canal.  The  steamers 
must  move  slowly,  so  as  not  to  break  down 
the  sides  of  the  canal,  and  they  must  keep  a 
certuin  distance  apart.  At  regular  interval?, 
there  are  turn-outs,  like  the  switches  and  side- 
tracks on  a  railway,  where  the  vessels  pass  one 
another. 

Many  of  the  passengers  took  the  train  from 
Suez  to  Cairo.  But  Mr.  Anson  was  afraid  to 
prolong  their  stay  in  such  an  unhealthy  climate 
as  that  of  Egypt,  and  so  kept  with  the  steamer 
till  it  reached  Port  Said,  at  the  end  of  the  Suez 
Canal.  Here  he  took  a  steamer,  on  which  were 
hundreds  of  Moslem  pilgrims  returning  from 
Mecca,  and  crossed  the  Mediterranean,  passing 
by  the  island  of  Crete,  and  through  the  Grecian 
Archipelago,  until  the  Hellespont,  or  Darda- 
nelles— across  which  Leander,  and,  many  centu- 


IN  MOSLEM   LANDS.  265 

ries  later,  Lord  Byron,  swam — into  the  Sea  of 
Marmora,  and  thence  to  Constantinople. 

"It  seems  to  me,"  said  Mrs.  Anson,  as  they 
approached  Constantinople,  "that  I  have  never 
seen  any  lovelier  view  than  this.  It  is  so  bright, 
so  varied  in  outline,  and  so  gorgeous  in  splendid 
buildings.  Those  strange  old  fortifications,  the 
roofs,  the  domes,  the  minarets  of  Stamboul" — as 
the  main  part  of  Constantinople  is  named — "  on 
the  left,  and  the  cemeteries  and  the  cypress 
groves  on  the  Asiatic  shores,  the  Bosphorus 
opening,  and  the  scenery  beyond,  present,  in- 
deed, a  beautiful  picture." 

"But  wait  a  little,"  suggested  one  of  their 
fellow-passengers,  an  English  resident  of  Con- 
stantinople, "and  a  grander  view  than  even  this 
will  be  before  you.  There;  now  we  shall  go 
around  the  Seraglio  Point  into  the  Golden  Horn. 
See,  to  the  south,  here,  the  seven  low  hills, 
crowned  with  their  domes  and  slender  minarets 
and  odd-looking  houses.  Then,  over  on  the 
north,  in   Galata,  with   its  crowded   buildings, 


266      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

and  on  the  heights  of  Pera  the  splendid  resi- 
dences of  the  European  embassies.  Behind  us, 
now,  we  have  left  Scutari." 

"It  is,  indeed,  a  specimen  of  Oriental  splen- 
dor," said  Mr.  Anson. 

By  the  advice  of  their  English  acquaintance, 
they  took  rooms  in  the  Hotel  d'Angleterre,  in 
Pera,  to  which  they  were  taken  by  the  agent  of 
the  hotel,  who  looked  after  their  landing. 

Under  the  guidance  of  a  "dragoman,"  or 
guide,  the  Ansons  went  to  visit  the  Sultan's 
Seraglio,  several  of  the  mosques,  and  even  across 
to  Scutari,  to  see  the  Whirling  Dervishes.  On 
several  of  these  occasions  Mrs.  Anson  was  com- 
pelled to  remain  in  her  room  at  the  hotel;  the 
fever  seemed  to  have  taken  a  fresh  hold  upon  her. 
Mr.  Anson  was  in  some  alarm  about  her,  and  it 
interfered  not  a  little  with  his  enjoyment.  To 
the  children,  it  seemed  as  if  their  mother  was 
but  weary;  and  the  bright  colors,  the  quaint 
buildings,  the  odd  costumes,  were  a  source  of 
unvarying  delight. 


IN   MOSLEM   LANDS. 


267 


Taking  a  carriage  one  morning,  they  crossed 
the  New  Harbor  Bridge,  and  driving  around  by 
the  railway  depot,  they  passed  the  Seraglio,  and 


stopj)ed  before  the  Mosque  of  St.  Sopliia,  just 
adjoining. 

"The  Sultan's  women  have  not  far  to  go  to 
church,"  suggested  Bertie. 

"Do  you  know  why  Constantinople  is  so 
called,  Bertie?"  asked  Mr.  Anson. 


268      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"Yes,  sir;  after  Constantine  the  Great.  He 
founded  the  city,  did  he  not  ?  " 

"Oh,  no,"  replied  his  father.  "You  will  have 
to  brush  up  your  history.  It  was  founded  nearly 
a  thousand  years  before,  and  was  called  Byzan- 
tium. Constantine  simply  adopted  the  ruined 
Byzantium  as  his  capital,  and  raised  it  to  a  yet 
greater  glory.  Did  you  ever  hear  the  story  of 
the  founding  of  Byzantium?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  I  will  tell  it  to  you.  Nearly  seven  hundred 
years  before  Jesus  was  born,  some  Megarian  em- 
igrants asked  their  oracle  to  tell  them  where  to 
found  a  new  city.  ^  Found  your  city  opposite 
the  land  of  the  blind  men,'  was  the  advice. 
They  traveled  to  find  the  ^land  of  the  blind 
men.'  When  they  came  to  Chalcedon — called 
Kadi  Keui  now — they  at  once  perceived  that 
the  curving  shores  of  the  Golden  Horn  offered 
a  site  for  a  city  far  surpassing  any  place  they 
had  yet  seen.  Then  they  understood  that  the 
'blind  men'  were  they  who  could  not  see  the 


IN   MOSLEM   LANDS.  269 

advantages  of  the  opposite  shore.  There  they 
settled.  St.  Sophia — Sophia  is  the  Greek  word 
for  wisdom,  and  refers  to  Jesus  as  the  incarna- 
tion of  wisdom — was,  at  the  first,  a  Christian 
church.  Its  foundations  were  laid  in  the  days 
of  Constantine.  It  was  destroyed  several  timas, 
but  was  rebuilt  with  yet  greater  splendor.  The 
emj^eror  designed  to  surpass  Solomon's  Temple. 
The  East  was  ransacked  for  beautiful  marbles. 
Gold  was  used  lavishly.  The  emperor  said  that 
an  angel  had  revealed  its  plan  in  a  dream.  Now 
let  us  see  it." 

The  Ansous  first  removed  their  shoes  and 
put  on  slippers,  as  all  are  required  to  do  in 
entering  Moslem  mosques;  then  they  went  to 
the  gallery  from  which  they  could  have  a  view 
of  the  magnificent  interior. 

"The  great  dome  seems  to  hang  in  the  air," 
said  Bessie.  "These  beautiful  columns  come, 
so  I  have  read,  from  many  old  temples  in 
Egypt,  Ephesus,  and  Athens.  The  building 
was   sixteen   years   in   erecting.     When   it  was 


270      THE  ANSOXS    IJs^  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

finished,  the  emperor  ran  in,  exclaiming :  ^  God 
be  praised,  who  hath  esteemed  me  worthy  to 
complete  such  a  work.  Solomon,  I  have  sur- 
passed thee !  ^  '^ 

Nearly  an  hour  they  tarried  in  the  mosque, 
going  from  point  to  point ;  now  they  stood  be- 
fore the  Mihrab,  where  the  holy  book,  the 
Koran,  is  kept ;  now  they  approached  the  altar, 
or  walked  around  under  the  great  dome,  whose 
circumference  was  less  than  the  space  between 
the  columns,  and  which  truly  seemed  to  hang  in 
the  air,  without  visible  supports.  Whenever 
any  Mohammedan  came  in  to  pray,  he  turned 
his  face  toward  the  Mihrab,  and  so  to  the  south- 
east; the  building  being  exactly  square,  and 
built  in  an  exact  line  with  the  points  of  the 
compass,  the  worshipers  thus  oddly  faced  the 
corners  of  the  mosque,  and  not  the  centre  of 
the  eastern  side,  where  formerly  stood  the  altar. 

When  they  stood  without,  Bertie  called  at- 
tention to  the  crescent  over  the  dome. 

"  That  crescent  is  worth,  so   they  say,  fifty 


IN  MOSLEM   LANDS.  271 

iliousand  dollars  in  gold,"  remarked  Mr. 
Anson. 

"  What  does  the  crescent  mean  ? "  asked 
Bertie. 

^^About  four  hundred  years  before,  the  Mace- 
donians had  besieged  the  city  of  Byzantium. 
One  dark  night  they  intended  to  take  the  city 
by  surprise.  Just  as  they  had  commenced  their 
assault,  the  clouds  parted,  and  by  the  light  of 
the  crescent  moon,  the  soldiers  on  the  walls 
saw  the  enemy  approaching.  Thenceforth  it 
l)ecame  their  symbol.  When  the  Turks  con- 
quered Constantinople,  they  adopted  it  as  their 
symbol.'' 

Dismissing  the  carriage,  they  descended  to  the 
water's  edge,  and  crossed  in  a  small  boat  to 
Scutari,  to  the  Ronfai  Convent,  where  the 
Whirling  Dervishes  reside.  It  was  just  a  little 
before  one  o'clock  when  they  had  arrived.  The 
Dervishes  entered  and  seated  themselves  in  a 
circle,  and  prayed  a  short  prayer  five  times 
over.    Then  rising,  they  began,  at  first  slowly 


272       THE   ANSONS   IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

then  more  rapidly,  to  say,   "Xa  ilah  illallah/' 


THE  WHIRLING  DERVISHES. 


meaning,  "there  is  no  God  but  God."     They 
pronounced  it  thus:     ^' La-i-lah-il-Ia-lahJ'     At 


IN   MOSLEM   LANDS.  273 

the  first  syllable  tliey  bowed  forward,  at  the 
second  stood  straight,  at  the  third  bent  back- 
ward, and  so  on.  Kapidly  and  yet  more  rapidly 
they  seesawed  up  and  down.  Then  the  sheik, 
or  leader,  began  to  stamp.  At  once  they  seemed 
to  increase  their  motion  four-fold,  and  began  to 
whirl  round  and  round,  and  bend  up  and  down 
like  crazy  men.  All  this  time  they  cried  out 
their  sentence,  which  now  sounded  like  one 
"lah/^  interrupted  occasionally  by  *'hoo!  yah 
hoo!^^  meaning,  "He,  He  is  God.''  By-and-by 
they  joined  hands  and  swung  to  and  fro,  with 
their  long  hair  flying  like  a  cloud.  Finally, 
some  fell  down  foaming  at  the  mouth,  others 
swooned  and  were  carried  out.  It  became  more 
than  the  Ansons  could  stand;  Bertie's  head 
seemed  to  be  dizzy. 

When  they  reached  the  hotel,  Mr.  Anson  was 
met  at  the  door  by  a  servant,  who  told  him  that 
Mrs.  Anson  had  been  so  ill  that  they  had  had  to 
call  in  the  doctor.  He  ha.stened  to  his  room  and 
found  the  doctor  there. 


CHAPTER  Xyil. 

THE  INVALID 'S  JO  UBNE  T  HOME. 

T  AM  Dr.  Stevenson;  this  is  Mr.  Anson,  I 
judge,"  spoke  up  the  physician,  quickly. 
"We  have  a  rather  sick  lady  here.  Please  tell 
me  about  her.  I  have  but  this  moment  reached 
here." 

"It  was  when  we  were  in  Siam  that  my  at- 
tention was  first  drawn  to  the  fact  that  my  wife 
was  ill.  I  had  thought,  before  that,  that  it  was 
simply  weariness." 

"Where  did  you  come  from,  before  reaching 
Siam  ?  "  asked  the  doctor. 

"From  Canton,  China,  where  we  lived  for 
quite  a  little  while  on  the  banks  of  the  river." 

"H'm,  h'm,  just  so.  The  fever  plainly.  It 
is  a  hard  thing  for  us  Englishmen  or  Ameri- 
cans to  stand  the  malarious  atmosphere  of  such 
spots.      I   often  wonder  how  the   missionaries 

274 


manage  to  live  there  for  years.  But,  to  get  to 
business,  you  had  better  get  this  lady  away  from 
here  as  soon  as  possible.  You  can  go  to  Switz- 
erland, or  you  can  go  right  to  America.  It  will 
not  require  much  more  of  an  effort  to  cross  the 
ocean,  if  she  is  a  fair  sailor.'^ 

"She  has  generally  been  better  on  the  water 
than  ashore,"  said  Mr.  Anson. 

"So  much  the  better.  Get  some  thick  cloth- 
ing ready,  because  you  will  be  going  to  much 
colder  latitudes.  In  the  meanwhile,  I  will  leave 
some  medicine  to  act  as  a  tonic  for  your  wife. 
"We  cannot  reach  the  cause  of  the  trouble  with 
medicine ;  that  you  will  have  to  leave  to  the  sea 
voyage  to  accomplish.  How  are  you  going 
home?    Have  you  fixed  on  a  plan?" 

"  I  had  thought  to  take  the  Austrian  Lloyd's 
mail  steamer  to  Trieste,  and  thence  by  Venice, 
Milan,  Turin,  and  across  the  Alps  into  France, 
and  thence  to  England,"  replied  Mr.  Anson. 

"  Have  you  bought  tickets  for  that  route  ?  " 

"No,  for  I  have  made  no  fixed  plan  yet." 


276      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"You  are  wise  not  to  have  done  so,  for  one 
never  knows  what  may  happen.  I  would  sug- 
gest that  you  take  one  of  Burns  and  Mclver^s 
first-class  Liverpool  steamers,  and  go  all  the 
way  to  America  by  water.  You  can  stop  at 
Malta  and  Gibraltar.  You  can  lie  over  in 
England  as  long  as  you  please.  However,  there 
is  no  place  like  home;  and,  unless  your  wife 
gets  thoroughly  well,  you  had  better  go  right 
on  to  the  States.'' 

"Thank  you,  doctor;  I  will  study  the  matter 
over.  It  is  almost  certain  that  I  will  do  as  you 
suggest." 

In  a  week  Mrs.  Anson  was  able  to  leave  her 
bed,  and  they  were  soon  sailing  away  from 
Asia  to  the  home-land  westward.  The  voyage 
through  the  Mediterranean  was  especially  enjoy- 
able, for  the  air  was  balmy  and  mild,  and  the 
sea  smooth.  Daily,  Mrs.  Anson  was  carried  on 
deck,  and  carefully  screened  from  the  sun's  rays 
and  from  draughts  of  air.  She  thus  mended 
rapidly.     The  rest  of  the  family  hung  about  the 


THE   invalid's  JOUBNEY   HOME.  277 

convalescent,  now  reading  to  her,  now  chatting 
with  her,  now  singing  in  concert,  now  discussing 
the  journey  over  which  they  had  come,  or  fore- 
casting their  arrival  at  home.  They  never 
wearied  when  talking  over  the  various  interest- 
ing things  they  had  seen  from  the  day  when 
they  first  started  for  their  long  tour.  Of  course 
they  found  that  the  hours  flew  apace. 

At  Malta,  Bertie  and  his  father  paid  a  flying 
visit  to  St.  John's  Cathedral,  with  the  Crusaders' 
graves.  They  climbed  the  fortress  towers,  to  ob- 
tain the  beautiful  view  over  the  harbors.  Four 
days  later,  Gibraltar  was  reached.  The  six 
hours'  stay  of  the  steamer  was  utilized  by  Mr. 
Anson  and  Bertie  to  visit  the  castle  and  the 
formidable  batteries.  The  time  was  too  short 
to  allow  them  to  climb  the  heights  of  the 
Rock  of  Gibraltar,  towering  upward  to  a 
height   of   twelve   hundred   feet. 

The  glassy  gi*een  ocean  now  appeared,  chang- 
ing from  the  deep  blue  of  the  sea.  Without 
any  delay,  the  Ansons  reached  liiverpool  with 


278      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

but  time  to  be  transferred  to  the  Cunarder  about 
to  start  for  New  York.  Unvarying  kindness 
was  shown  on  both  the  steamers  to  the  invalid 
lady.  A  very  pleasant  friendship  had  sprung 
up  between  the  passengers  and  officers,  on  the 
longer  voyage  from  Constantinople  to  Liver- 
pool. It  was  with  genuine  regret  that  they 
parted  company  at  Liverpool. 

A  few  days  after  leaving  Queenstown,  Ireland, 
Mrs.  Anson  was  lying  upon  her  easy  sea-chair, 
knitting.  Bertie  sat  by  her  side,  reading  his 
Bible. 

"What  are  you  reading,  my  son?  Eead  it  to 
me,  will  you  not?" 

"I  was  reading  the  seventeenth  chapter  of 
John^s  Gospel,  and  I  stopped  reading  and  be- 
gan thinking  over  this  verse:  'As  thou  hast 
sent  me  into  the  world,  even  so  have  I  sent  them 
into  the  world.'  " 

"What  did  you  think  of  it?"  asked  his 
mother. 

"Why,  that  Jesus  was  a  foreign  missionary. 


THE   invalid's   JOURNEY   HOME.  279 

Then  I  thought  that  his  disciples  were  to  be  like 
him,  and  to  go  into  the  world  too.  But,  mam- 
ma, all  Christians  can't  go." 

"No,  my  son;  some  only  can  go,  and  some 
must  send  them.  Your  papa  could  not  go;  I 
suppose" — ^with  a  smile — "that  I  should  get  too 
sick,  if  I  were  to  go,  even  if  your  papa  was  not 
my  husband." 

"  Well,  mamma,  how  can  anybody  know  cer- 
tainly just  whether  he  ought  to  go,  or  to  stay  ?" 

"Let  us  be  frank  with  each  other,  Bertie. 
Are  you  thinking  of  yourself?" 

"Why,  yes,  mamma,  I  believe  I  am." 

"You  are  a  Christian,  yourself,  my  son.  That 
is  the  first  thing.  You  cannot  tell  the  gospel  to 
others  until  you  have  experienced  its  power  your- 
self. Then,  too,  you  have  tried — I  have  seen  it 
when  you  thought  I  did  not  notice  it — ^to  per- 
suade some  of  your  school  friends  to  be  Chris- 
tians." 

"Why,  of  course,  mamma;  I  coiild  not  help 
that,"  interrupted  Bertie. 


280      THE  ANSONS   IN   ASIATIC   TEMPLES. 

"That  is  just  it;  you  did  it  so  naturally  that 
it  shows  that  you  have  the  missionary  spirit. 
Now,  the  next  thing  is,  where  are  you  most 
needed,  and  for  what  work  are  you  most  fitted? 
These  are  two  most  important  questions.  I  do 
not  know  that  you  are  old  enough  to  answer  the 
last  question.  One  moment,  papa" — calling  to 
Mr.  Anson,  who  was  leisurely  pacing  the  deck — 
"can  you  help  us?''  And  she  detailed  the  con- 
versation thus  far. 

"Why,"  said  he,  "Bertie's  character  has  so  far 
shown  itself  that  I  think  we  can  determine  if  he 
has,  even  undeveloped  as  yet,  the  germs  of  those 
qualities  needed  for  missionary  work  at  home 
and  abroad.  He  has  a  sound  body  for  a  foun- 
dation." 

"Yes,"  added  his  wife,  "we  have  taken  pains 
with  that  from  babyhood." 

"Then,  too,"  continued  Mr.  Anson,  "he 
seemed  to  pick  up  quite  easily  the  German,  as 
it  is  spoken  in  the  German  quarter  of  our  town. 
He  gets  along  fairly  well  at  school.     I  do  not 


know  that  he  lacks  any  of  the  qualifications 
needed  by  a  foreign  missionary,  except  such  as 
may  be  given  him  in  the  course  of  his  educa- 
tion." 

"  Well,  we  can  let  that  stand.  How  about  the 
need  for  missionaries?"  asked  Mrs.  Anson. 

"  Well,  there  are  needy  fields  in  the  territories 
and  in  the  large  cities  in  the  Eastern  States," 
said  Mr.  Anson. 

"But,"  said  Bertie,  "there  are  none  as  needy 
as  the  countries  of  Asia,  and  the  great  cities 
other  than  the  ones  where  the  steamers  stop.  It 
seems  to  me,  papa,  that  the  people  are  so  low,  so 
superstitious,  so  wicked,  that  they  ought  to  have 
more  missionaries  to  preach  to  them  about  Jesus. 
I  can't  call  to  mind  the  beautiful  temples  we 
have  seen  without  thinking  of  the  way  they  wor- 
ship in  them,  and  the  idols  to  whom  they  pray. 
I  think  of  it  most  of  the  time." 

"Perhaps  God  is  leading  you  towards  giving 
yourself  to  be  a  missionary.  You  must  ask  him 
about  it." 


282      THE  ANSONS    IN  ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

"  I  have,  papa ;  and  I  will  keep  on  asking." 

"I  believe,"  added  Mrs.  Anson,  "that  the 
noble  example  of  the  godly  men  whom  we  met 
on  our  tour,  and  their  earnest  work,  has  made 
me  feel  an  intense  interest  in  their  work,  and 
that  it  has  impressed  Bertie  also." 

"I  do  not  doubt  it,"  said  Mr.  Anson. 

Just  then  the  gong  sounding  for  luncheon 
interrupted  the  conversation. 

That  same  evening,  chancing  to  be  alone,  the 
parents  began  to  talk  of  the  morning's  conver- 
sation. 

"  I  do  not  question  that  our  Heavenly  Father 
is  leading  Bertie  to  be  willing  to  give  himself  to 
Christ's  service  in  heathen  lands,  and  that  it  will 
come  about  that,  unless  something  should  inter- 
pose, we  shall  see  our  boy  a  foreign  missionary," 
Mrs.  Anson  said. 

"God  grant  it!  even  if  it  be  hard  for  us  to 
send  him  far  from  us,"  answered  Mr.  Anson. 

"But  I  have  been  thinking  of  Bessie.  She, 
too,  seems  impressed  by  what  she  has  seen,  and 


those  whom  she  has  met.  Yet  she  has  said 
nothing  about  becoming  a  missionary." 

"Well,  my  dear  wife,  we  do  not  know  what 
has  been  passing  in  her  mind.  Neither  do  we 
know  but  that  God  will  let  the  seeds  sown  in 
this  journey  lie  in  her  heart  until  some  later 
occurrence  may  develop  them.  In  the  mean- 
while, I  am  sure  that  our  little  Mission  Band 
will  be  the  better  by  having  had  its  representa- 
tives in  foreign  lands." 

We  need  not  follow  the  Ansons  to  their  home 
in  Illinois.  They  were  welcomed  with  joy  by 
the  people  of  their  congregation,  both  old  and 
young.  For  awhile,  there  seemed  danger  lest 
Mr.  Anson  should  be  overtaxed  by  the  demands 
upon  him  from  other  churches  to  come  and  tell 
of  his  travels.  Finally,  however,  he  reduced  it 
to  system;  and  many  were  the  times  that  he 
thanked  God  for. the  privilege  he  had  enjoyed 
of  seeing  for  himself  the  mission  work  of  Asia, 
and  for  the  further  privilege  of  telling  others 
what  he  had  seen  and  learned  on  his  long  tour. 


284      THE   ANSONS    IN   ASIATIC  TEMPLES. 

He  soon  saw  the  results,  in  an  increased  interest 
in  the  great  work  among  the  members  of  the 
churches  that  he  visited. 

It  was  nearly  a  year  before  Mrs.  Anson's 
health  was  fully  restored.  Her  experience  in 
this  direction  enabled  both  her  husband  and 
herself  to  sympathize  more  fully  than  they 
could  otherwise  have  done  with  invalided  mis- 
sionaries. 


THE   END. 

OFTHE       ■'' 

((   UNIVERSITY 


Yd  28531 


